Binance Chooses Paris As Europe’s Crypto Hub

 

After establishing itself in the MENA region, the world’s largest exchange Binance has moved into Paris. Binance promises to make Paris Europe’s cryptocurrency hub. The commitment comes after the French Financial Markets Authority formally granted the company the right to offer and market its services to local clients.

The company sees Binance’s move to Paris as a significant step towards establishing itself and the crypto industry in Europe. However, it is undeniable that the African continent still lags in crypto adoption. According to a survey by Gemini, Europe lags behind the global average by 23%.

Furthermore, in Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, only 17% of Europeans use cryptocurrencies. The survey also revealed that 40% of those who own cryptocurrencies in Europe only started investing in 2021.

Along with these facts came the crisis in Ukraine, tensions between some countries, and the financial situation of some countries, considering that Europe is a unified continent and therefore defended against aggressors.

Meanwhile, Dubai is already on track to lead the future with crypto. Bahrain has granted Binance a crypto asset service provider license. Many countries have already adopted cryptocurrencies.

The Opera Browser Allows Direct Access To The Dapp Ecosystem

 

Crypto-friendly browser Opera integrates BNB Chain. BNB Chain is a decentralized blockchain ecosystem that we formerly know as Binance Smart Chain. It enables BNB Chain-based blockchains on Android, iOS, and desktop versions of its crypto browser DApps.

The integration will allow Opera’s 350 million users to buy BNB (Build N Build) tokens with fiat currency. They will send and receive them via Opera’s built-in crypto wallet and access DApps in the BNB Chain ecosystem. The list includes decentralized exchanges (DEXs) such as PancakeSwap, 1inch, and BiSwap and decentralized finance (DeFi) products such as DRIP Venus and Tranchess Treehouse, ApeSwap, and AutoShark Finance.

The BNB chain integration for Opera Crypto Browser follows the April release of the Web3 browser beta. They have released a beta version for iOS devices, iPhone, and iPad. Earlier this year, Opera launched the Crypto Browser project to focus on Web3. The aim was also to facilitate navigation across DApps, games, and Metaverse platforms. The browser company has since expanded support for nine major blockchain ecosystems. These include Bitcoin, Solana, Polygon, StarkEx, Ronin, Celo, Nervos Network, and the BNB Chain.

Patrick Degenhardt of BNB Chain stated that the primary goal of the Binance Chain community is to build the infrastructure for a parallel virtual ecosystem of the world and attract the following billion people to use cryptocurrencies.

Commenting on the latest development, CEO Pratik Gauri said that the browser company had the vision back in 2018 to start developing its products based on Web 3.0 standards.

Opera has long been part of the cryptocurrency space. In 2019, Opera became the first major browser to accept Bitcoin (BTC) payments. Currently, the crypto browser appeals to both seasoned and new crypto users and targets the growing interest in Web3.

Gucci Is The Latest Luxury Brand To Accept In-Store Crypto Payments

 

This month, the Italian high-end fashion brand Gucci will begin accepting cryptocurrency payments at its five US stores. Gucci plans to expand the service to all 111 stores in North America.

Gucci will accept 12 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ether (ETH), Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), Litecoin (LTC), Shiba (SHIB), Dogecoin ( DOGE), and five U.S. dollar stablecoins are trendy commerce.

Customers using crypto payments at the pilot locations in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, and Las Vegas will receive an email with a QR code to pay via their digital asset wallet. The staff has begun training and educating crypto, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and Web3 in preparation for launch.

In the Web3 launch tour, Gucci recently launched two NFT collections in 2022. These are “SUPERGUCCI” collection in February with toy brand SUPERPLASTIC and the “Gucci Grail” collection in March, targeting existing blue-chip NFT projects. Owners such as the Boring Ape Yacht Club, Chunky Penguin, and Women’s World.

His eponymous clothing line inspired his first NFT, a four-minute film called Aria. It sold for $25,000 in an online auction at Christie’s in June 2021.

Gucci continues to expand into Web3 by purchasing virtual land in The Sandbox in February. The company plans to create a virtual retail experience that mirrors its Vault e-store.

Gucci Vault is an online concept store representing “Gucci’s presence in the metaverse.”

It offers rare vintage Gucci pieces curated by its creative director.

Kazakhstan Increases Electricity Consumption Of Crypto Miners

 

The Kazakh government has set new reporting requirements for cryptocurrency miners. It closely monitors how the industry’s energy consumption affects the local grid.

The order, issued by the country’s digital development minister earlier this week, requires digital mining companies to provide comprehensive information 30 days before operations begin.

After the Chinese government cracked down on the practice in mid-2021, Kazakhstan was overwhelmed by an influx of crypto miners. The country’s growing use of miners has put pressure on power supplies. It forced the Kazakh government to act to intermittently cut power to miners.

The report also states that miners must provide information about the legal entity conducting business, which must be located in the Republic of Kazakhstan, and contact information and physical and IP addresses used in their activities.

The latest order is an update to an existing ministerial order from October 2020. It sets out the rules for providing information on digital mining activities.

In February, a proposal to increase electricity prices and taxes for crypto miners was proposed, with a proposed 335% increase in electricity prices, the removal of value-added tax (VAT) exemptions for mining equipment, and a per-item tax instead.

Authorities in Kazakhstan have been working to root out illegal crypto mining operations in the country as they strain the energy grid. In March, 106 illegal crypto mining operations were shut down following a raid by financial regulators, when more than 67,000 pieces of equipment were seized.

The latest Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) update for August 2021 shows that Kazakhstan has more than 18% of the global BTC hash rate, second only to the United States.