Adidas is getting into the metaverse, a Banksy painting is being split into 10,000 NFTs, Bitcoin is being rolled out to hundreds of millions of Brazilians, and crypto donations have surged.
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BIG metaverse plans for adidas 🌏
After dropping endless hints in recent days, adidas has revealed new details about its foray into the metaverse. The sportswear brand has entered into a partnership with Bored Ape Yacht Club, PUNKS Comic and gmoney NFT. Its developers said: "When you believe impossible is nothing, you end up in some strange, new places." A flashy video on Twitter showed three characters flying into Earth — including a Bored Ape — each of them kitted out in adidas gear. Here's what we know so far.
ETH 'better store of value' than BTC 😱
A new study might have Bitcoiners choking on their coffee. Australian academics have argued that ETH could be a better store of value than BTC. Recent upgrades to the Ethereum blockchain have made the world's second-largest cryptocurrency deflationary. In time, the authors expect the issuance rate of ETH to settle at 0.98%, while BTC's supply will increase by 2% over the same period. This "may help explain its recent outperformance of rival Bitcoin," they added. JPMorgan is bullish, too.
Saylor: BTC not ideal for buying coffee ☕️
MicroStrategy's boss Michael Saylor has declared that Bitcoin is the world's reserve asset — but has admitted it isn't ideal for making everyday purchases. Suggesting the dollar still has a place in our society, he told CoinDesk: "You don’t want to pay for your coffee with your Bitcoin, you want to pay for your coffee with a currency." It comes as MicroStrategy continues to accrue BTC at an astonishing space. Earlier this week, it emerged the software company had snapped up 7,002 BTC. What he said.
Banksy art to be split into 10,000 NFTs 🔥
A real-life Banksy painting is being split into 10,000 NFTs. Love Is In The Air — created back in 2005 — depicts a masked man throwing a bouquet of flowers instead of a bomb. Loic Gouzer has established a company called Particle that is powered by the Avalanche blockchain and aims to "change the way people own, collect, experience and enjoy fine art." Each NFT is set to be sold off for $1,500 each — and the painting is being split up into individual squares. It could deliver a big profit.
'A battle for the future of the internet' 😬
Axie Infinity's co-founder has warned that Facebook's foray into the metaverse is a "battle for the future of the internet." Jeff Zirlin warned the crypto sector will face "more powerful enemies" as digital assets and the blockchain go mainstream. Speaking at the NFT BZL conference in Miami, he said: "They're going to try to squash this beautiful thing that we built because it threatens them — it threatens their business model, their way of life, and their philosophy." Read more here.
Crypto Giving Tuesday donations up 583% 🚀
A whopping $2.4 million was raised during this year's Crypto Giving Tuesday — a 583% increase compared with last year. Generous investors dug deep for an average donation of $12,600 — and in a reflection of the market's stunning performance over the past 12 months, that's a 20% rise from 2020. In total, 1,017 nonprofits took part in this year's event — up 839%. For the very first time, ETH has also flipped BTC to become the most popular coin for making donations. The stats.
'Amazon of Latin America' embraces crypto 🤩
MercadoLibre — dubbed by some as the "Amazon of Latin America" — has revealed further details of its plans to make cryptocurrencies accessible for hundreds of millions of people in Brazil. This month, consumers will get the opportunity to buy, sell and hold Bitcoin and Ether — and through a partnership with Paxos, the USDP stablecoin will be offered, too. Setting out the significance of this move, Paxos drew comparisons to when PayPal embraced digital assets in 2020. Why this matters.
Yellen: 'Mind not made up' on digital dollar 🇺🇸
Uncertainty remains over whether the U.S. plans to push ahead with a central bank digital currency — with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen confirming she's undecided. Speaking to Reuters, Yellen said further work is needed to deduce the pros and cons of CBDCs, and to gauge the impact it could have on America's banking system. The country's glacial pace has left some officials exasperated — especially as China now has a fully developed CBDC of its own. What's at stake.
