Crypto funding Russia’s war efforts💣, Tether denies exposure to Chinese commercial paper⛔, another exchange files for bankruptcy📉

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In This Issue

Eastern Europe
•WAR IN UKRAINE: Pro-Russia groups using crypto to fund the war
•WAR IN UKRAINE: Crypto still an “essential tool” for Ukraine’s defense

Asia
•STABLECOINS: Tether denies exposure to Chinese commercial paper
•CRYPTO WINTER: Another exchange files for bankruptcy protection

Africa
•CRYPTO ADOPTION: Looking for citizenship somewhere? The Central African Republic is now an option…
•WEB3: Africa web3 training program announced inaugural graduation

Latin America & The Caribbean
•PRODUCT LAUNCH: Binance Card available in Argentina
•NEW ENTRANT: Santander planning to enter the Brazilian crypto market

Eastern Europe

WAR IN UKRAINE: Pro-Russia groups using crypto to fund the war (5 minute read)

Early in the Russian war with Ukraine crypto was being used by the Ukrainian government as a novel way to accept donations from around the world to financially support their defense against the Russian invasion. However, Chainalysis has reported that at least 54 pro-Russian organizations have also used crypto donations to fund the war-effort and have already raised over USD $2mm in bitcoin, ether, Tether, litecoin, and dogecoin. The funds raised have reportedly been used to finance pro-Russian propaganda and purchase military equipment.

WAR IN UKRAINE: Crypto still an “essential tool” for Ukraine’s defense (2 minute read)

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation, Alex Bornyakov, tweeted last week about the important role crypto has played in supporting Ukraine during the war. “Despite the “bear market” crypto has become an essential tool of Ukraine’s defense, providing flexibility and speed that literally saved our soldiers’ lives”, Bornyakov said on his personal account. The exact figure is unknown, but it is estimated that Ukraine has raised over USD $100mm in crypto-based donations since the start of the war.

Want more Eastern Europe news?
•Turkish Finance Minister meets virtually with Binance founder to discuss crypto
•XIDEN Blockchain Developer CryptoDATA Tech Announced as Official Title Sponsor of the MotoGP Austrian GP

Asia

STABLECOINS: Tether denies exposure to Chinese commercial paper (1 minute read)

“Tether’s portfolio holds no Chinese commercial paper” according to a blog post by the company. Combatting FUD and recent allegations that the world’s largest stablecoin’s underlying assets are risky, the company said it has reduced its total commercial paper exposure from USD $30B in July 2021 to roughly USD $3.7B today. Tether further promised to have zero exposure to commercial paper by the end of October/early November 2022.

CRYPTO WINTER: Another exchange files for bankruptcy protection (3 minute read)

Zipmex, the Thailand-headquartered crypto exchange, is the latest exchange to file for bankruptcy protection in Singapore with more than USD $50mm in exposure to Celsius, which also filed for bankruptcy protection, and Babel, which is restructuring after halting withdrawals. The collapse of TerraUSD and LUNA, which caused contagion in the crypto market and the collapse of Celsius and the hedge fund, 3AC, is now affecting Zipmex. The company plans to write off the USD $5mm in exposure to Celsius and recover the USD $48mm that Babel owes them.

Want more Asia news?
•NFT black market sprouts under China’s crypto crackdown
•HARTi and Mitsui Sumitomo roll out NFT insurance coverage for claims
•Marriages and court cases can be held in the Metaverse

Africa

CRYPTO ADOPTION: Looking for citizenship somewhere? The Central African Republic is now an option… (2 minute read)

…but there is a catch, you have to lock USD $60K equivalent of Sango coins for 5 years. In case you haven’t heard, the Central African Republic (CAR) adopted BTC as legal tender. Sango, the CAR’s official cryptocurrency and blockchain, is backed by Bitcoin (BTC) reserves and being built on top of the BTC blockchain. In addition to citizenship, the Sango project also offers e-residency after locking USD $6K for 3 years and physical land in the CAR after locking USD $10K for 10 years.

WEB3: Africa web3 training program announced inaugural graduation (4 minute read)

The African web3 developer training program for high school and college students, Web3 Clubs, held its inaugural graduation last week and trained 30 students in web3 development and 35 students in NEAR protocol smart contract development. During the graduation students were able to showcase their projects and the problems they’re solving with their applications. Web3 Clubs is focused on web3 acceleration and adoption in East Africa, helping developers transition from web2 to web3, and providing mentors to students.

Want more Africa news?
•Kenya CBDC Will Derail ‘Remarkable’ Fintech and M-PESA Progress, Warns IMF
•Introducing XendBridge API and SwitchWallet Business Wallet Infrastructure by Nigeria’s Xend Finance
•How This Kenyan Solana NFT Project Raised 1,000 $SOL to Create Over 1,000 Jobs in Africa’s Largest Slum

Latin America and The Caribbean

PRODUCT LAUNCH: Binance Card available in Argentina (1 minute read)

Argentinian Binance users now can use Binance Card to pay for goods and services with crypto. The balance on the card is kept in crypto and funds are converted to fiat at the time of purchase. With inflation expected to hit 70% in July and its currency depreciating against the dollar, Argentinians have been embracing crypto as a means of wealth preservation, even with the broader crypto market declines, and now have another way to use crypto as a medium of exchange.

NEW ENTRANT: Santander planning to enter the Brazilian crypto market (2 minute read)

Spanish banking giant, Santander, will be offering retail crypto services in Brazil by October, according to Santander Brazil president, Mário Leão. “We recognize that it is a market that is here to stay and…[it] is simply a view that our client has a demand for this type of asset”, said Leão. Santander Brazil also plans to tokenize traditional financial instruments and assets, such as debentures and fund shares, according to Leão.

More Latin America & Caribbean News:
•Mining Bitcoin in Brazil: Country has the 2nd most expensive electricity bill in the world
•Panama in the Top 10 -Countries best prepared for crypto adoption
•El Salvador seeks to allay default fears with sovereign bond buyback

Thanks for reading and have a great week ahead!

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Written by Jon Lira. Connect with him on LinkedIn.

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