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• Economist Peter Schiff has warned that the current financial crisis will be worse than in 2008.
• He argued that too much government regulation led to the 2008 crisis and now this one will be even worse due to quantitative easing.
• He believes that future rate hikes are pointless as they won’t offset the effects of quantitative easing.

Peter Schiff’s Financial Crisis Warning

Economist and gold bug Peter Schiff shared his outlook for the U.S. economy in a series of tweets this week, warning that the current financial crisis will be worse than in 2008 due to too much government regulation and quantitative easing (QE).

Cause of Crisis: Government Regulation & Quantitative Easing

Schiff explained that when the government „imposed lots of new banking regulations after the 2008 financial crisis, we were assured that what is happening right now would never happen again.“ However, he argued: One reason we had the 2008 financial crisis was too much government regulation. That’s why this crisis will be worse.“ This time it’s different,“ he said, noting that when the 2008 financial crisis started, the dollar rose and gold fell whereas this time it’s reversed due to investors expecting high inflation because of QE. He asserted that „the Fed caused the financial crises of 2008 and 2023“ by its policy mistakes and predicted back in 2009 that another financial crisis was coming eventually.

Rate Hikes Pointless Due To QE

Schiff further explained that QE is back with last week seeing a $300 billion increase on its balance sheet which wiped out four months worth of quantitative tightening (QT). By month end, its balance sheet could reach a new high making future rate hikes pointless as any effect will be more than offset by QE. He added that if QT was designed to lower inflation then QE would raise it leading to higher inflation overall.

Bailouts For Banks & Customers

The economist also touched upon recent bailouts of major banks such as Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank last Sunday by U.S Federal Reserve claiming: “The only way Fed can come close to achieving its 2% inflation target is to allow a worse financial crisis than 2008 to run its natural course, with no bailouts for banks or their customers”

Conclusion

In conclusion, Peter Schiff asserts his belief that another more severe global economic crash is looming due to bad policy decisions from governments across the world resulting from over-regulation and monetary stimulus programs such as quantitative easing which have failed to address underlying problems in our economy causing markets instability leading investors fleeing towards gold for safety

• The Nigerian Central Bank has issued operational guidelines for open banking in Nigeria.
• These guidelines are expected to enhance financial services efficiency and access.
• The CBN will provide and maintain an open banking registry for details of registered participants.

Nigerian Central Bank Unveils Open Banking Guidelines

The Nigerian central bank recently said it had issued operational guidelines for open banking in Nigeria which are expected to enhance efficiency and access to financial services. According to the central bank, some of the guidelines‘ objectives include ensuring „consistency and security across the open banking system.“

Customer Permissioned Data Sharing

The Central Bank of Nigeria said on March 7 that it had issued what it called the operational guidelines for open banking in Nigeria. According to the central bank, the guidelines are expected to foster the „sharing of customer-permissioned data between banks and third-party firms to enable the building of customer-focused products and services.“ The guidelines are expected to enhance efficiency and access to financial services.

Open Banking Registry

To kick things off, the CBN said it will provide and maintain an open banking registry (OBR) which acts as the industry’s storehouse. „The OBR shall be a public repository for details of registered participants. Each participant shall be identified by its CAC [Corporate Affairs Commission] business registration number, which shall be the unique key across the OBR system. The OBR shall maintain an API interface, defined within these guidelines, which shall serve as the primary means by which API providers manage the registration of their API consumers,“ revealed CBN .

Compliance Requirements

Meanwhile, in its circular,the CBN said all stakeholders are required to „ensure strict compliance“ with the guidelines as well as other regulations. For its part,the central bank said it will continue monitor developments and may issue guidance as may be appropriate..

Conclusion

In conclusion, these new operational guidelines have been developed by Nigerian Central Bank in order to promote competition ,enhance access to financial institutions and ensure consistency & security across Open Banking System .All stakeholders must strictly comply with these regulations otherwise they’ll face actions from authorities .

• NFT sales decreased by 32.32% in the last seven days compared to the previous week, with Ethereum accounting for 79.78% of total sales.
• The top five NFT collections in terms of sales this week are all Ethereum-based and include MG Land, Momoguro Holoself, Sewer Pass, Bored Ape Yacht Club and Otherdeed.
• Ordinal inscriptions through Emblem Vault’s v4 collection have made their way into this week’s market data, with sales reaching $4.25 million.

Overview of Non-Fungible Token Sales

Non-fungible token (NFT) sales experienced a significant drop in the last seven days compared to a spike in February. Of 19 different blockchains, Ethereum accounted for $148.56 million out of the total $186.20 million in NFT sales settled this week; however, ETH-based NFTs decreased by 37.78%. Meanwhile, Solana (SOL) NFT sales increased by 12.93%, reaching $17 million and Polygon recorded just over $6 million in sales – a decrease of 17.34%.

Top 5 Collections

The top five most popular collections based on sales over the past seven days include MG Land ($10M), Momoguro Holoself ($8M), Sewer Pass ($7M), Bored Ape Yacht Club ($6M) and Otherdeed ($5M). The most expensive NFT sold during this period was Sewer Pass #21,915 which sold six days ago for $1.63 million USD.

Ordinal Inscriptions Enter Market Data

Ordinal inscriptions from Bitcoin Punks and Counterparty-crafted collections such as Rare Pepe blockchain trading cards have entered market data via Emblem Vault version four (v4). This collection has seen an impressive 287% increase compared to last week’s figures at a total sale of $4.25 million USD – making it the eighth largest collection based on weekly sales volume overall.

Leading Marketplaces

Blur is still leading the market this week with 79.7% market share while OpenSea captured 14/9%. Over the past thirty days more than two billion dollars worth of NFTs were sold across both platforms combined according to cryptoslam data analysis metrics .

Conclusion

Overall non-fungible token (NFT) markets experienced a dip in performance over the past seven day but remain strong despite fluctuations due to high demand within digital collectibles space as well as decentralized finance (DeFi). Furthermore, Ordinal inscriptions are gaining popularity among buyers offering an alternative form of collecting rare digital items on blockchains such as Bitcoin or Counterparty while Blur remains ahead as one of leading platforms for purchasing these assets worldwide

• Elliptic conducted a report on the use of crypto assets and technology by both sides in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
• The report found that more digital asset donations have gone to Ukraine than Russia, with $212 million worth of cryptocurrency donated to support Ukraine’s war efforts.
• Pro-Russian entities have raised around $4.8 million for the Russian military and associated militias, with 10% coming from illicit sources.

Analysis Unveils War Efforts Funded By Cryptocurrency

The two sides in the bitter conflict in Ukraine have been relying on crypto assets and technology to support their military and humanitarian activities, Elliptic says in a report. According to the blockchain forensics company, the targeted nation has attracted more digital asset donations than the invading power.

Donations To Support Ukraine

Both Russia and Ukraine have employed blockchain technology to secure funding for their war efforts since Russian forces attacked on Feb. 24, 2022, Elliptic revealed in a report exploring the evolving role of cryptocurrencies in the conflict. The study is based on data compiled by the crypto analytics firm over the past year. On the anniversary of the invasion, it was reported that „many campaigns have sought to harness core developments in the crypto ecosystem to aid their fundraising – from decentralized finance (defi) to crypto pre-paid cards.“

The digital cash was used for various purposes, from humanitarian causes to financing sanctioned groups. The analysis of transactions traced by Elliptic shows that over $212 million worth of cryptocurrency went towards supporting Ukraine’s efforts while anti-government organizations in Belarus received only around $0.7 million and pro-Russian groups raised approximately $4.8 million for its military activities and associated militias.

Illicit Sources Of Funding

More than 10% of these donations came from illicit sources according to Elliptic’s report which included darknet markets, sanctioned entities and stolen credit card vendors as well as less than 2% originating from such sources into funds allocated towards Ukrainian activities . Similarly , Pro-Russian entities collected around $400,000 between late February till late September as per TRM Labs data and Chainalysis reported that 54 such groups collectively received over $2.2 million worth of cryptocurrency since May 2022 .

Ukraine’s Digital Minister Claims Majority Of Military Suppliers Accept Crypto

Many fundraising initiatives on Ukrainian side utilized cryptocurrency where activists supporting Russia increased their funding since May 2022 raising more bitcoin & ether than Ukrainians . Furthermore ,Ukrainian Digital Minister claimed majority military suppliers accepted cryptocurrency payments further expanding reach & variety methods available via blockchain aiding country during times of crisis .

Conclusion

With rapid development & adoption new technologies ,cryptocurrencies are playing an increasingly important role when it comes support war efforts fuelling either side within ongoing conflict between Russia &Ukraine offering citizens & supporters platforms enabling them send funds directly without relying third parties

• The Summer token halving will take place on the 6th of March, reducing the rate of production from one token every 4.3 seconds to one token every 8.6 seconds.
• The halving will cause Summer tokens to become scarcer and more expensive while Autumn tokens become more abundant.
• Investors have a short time left to obtain Summer tokens before they become scarce, and can increase their holdings by trading between the four Seasonal Tokens.

End of an Era for the Seasonal Tokens Economy: Summer Tokens to Become Scarcer

Halving Process

Once every nine months, the rate of production of one of the four Seasonal Tokens is cut in half, with Spring having been most recently halved in June 2022. This process is similar to Bitcoin’s halvings, where the rate at which new coins are produced is reduced over time as a way to control inflation.

The Impact on Summer Tokens

On March 6th, the rate of production for Summer tokens will drop from one token every 4.3 seconds down to one token every 8.6 seconds, making them harder and more expensive to obtain as time goes on. As a result, prices are expected to adjust accordingly with Summer becoming the most expensive token out of all four seasonal tokens due its decreased supply relative to demand.

Benefits for Investors

Unlike Bitcoin where early investors have an advantage over later investors due its limited supply over time, investors in Seasonal Tokens can increase their holdings over time by trading between them depending on their current prices in relation to each other; when buying cheaper tokens then selling them when they become more expensive again increases your total amount invested overall without any extra cost incurred.

Conclusion

Investors who wish to take advantage of this opportunity only have a short amount of time left before scarcity sets in and future investors won’t be able access these plentiful summer tokens ever again; however those who do get involved now could potentially see great rewards from their investments if done correctly and strategically planned out over time!

• Hackers attacked the domain registrar Namecheap on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023 and compromised their email account.
• The hackers leveraged the company’s email account through a third-party provider, Sendgrid, to send out phishing emails claiming to be from Metamask and DHL.
• Namecheap CEO Richard Kirkendall confirmed the issue and disabled Sendgrid services, while Metamask warned users not to enter their recovery phrase on any website.

Hackers Attack Domain Registrar Namecheap

On Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023, hackers attacked the domain registrar Namecheap’s email account. Subsequently, a large number of individuals received phishing emails claiming to be from Metamask and DHL that originated from the email platform Sendgrid.

Namecheap Confirms Email Account Compromise

Namecheap CEO Richard Kirkendall confirmed the compromise and said the firm has disabled Sendgrid services in response. Multiple reports indicate that hackers leveraged the company’s email account through a third-party provider to send out malicious emails with links leading to a phishing campaign attempting to steal private information from users.

Metamask Warns Recipients

Metamask also tweeted about the Namecheap emails and told recipients to ignore them as they do not collect KYC information nor will they ever ask for someone’s recovery phrase via email. They reiterated that people should never enter their secret recovery phrase on any website under any circumstances.

Phishing Attacks Commonly Used by Hackers

Phishing attacks have been common in recent years and hackers have used various methods to access people’s private information such as financial data or mnemonic phrases from wallets like Metamask. The DHL phishing email attempted to provide users with an invoice in order for them to enter payment information for a fake issue which would enable hackers access funds from their accounts if successful.

Namecheap Takes Immediate Action

Beehive Cybersecurity noted that when they notified Namecheap of this breach they acted promptly and treated it seriously as per best practices in cybersecurity; this is what companies should strive for when responding quickly and efficiently when faced with such crises.

• FTX debtors are seeking to claw back millions of dollars given to U.S. political action committees and political figures.
• Confidential letters have been sent requesting the return of funds by Feb. 28, 2023.
• 196 U.S. lawmakers, or one out of every three members of Congress, took direct contributions from SBF or FTX executives.

FTX Debtors Demand Return of Funds

FTX debtors are seeking to claw back millions of dollars given to U.S. political action committees (PACs) and political figures by sending confidential letters requesting the return of funds by Feb. 28, 2023 via a designated email account, with the threat that they reserve the right to take legal action in bankruptcy court for any unpaid claims with interest accruing from the date of initiation if necessary. Estimates indicate that Sam Bankman-Fried and other top executives from FTX donated an estimated $90 million to U.S bureaucrats and political organizations since its inception, with 196 U.S lawmakers taking direct contributions from SBF or FTX executive officers – one out every three members of Congress respectively receiving payments from them directly or indirectly.

US Political Elite Under Pressure

The announcement reads that „recipients are requested to return the funds to the FTX debtors by Feb 28th 2023“. In addition to this press release released on February 5th 2021, Twitter account Unusual Whales also released a list breaking down which US bureaucrats and PACs received funding from SBF and top executives of FTX exchange.

Manchin & Smith Pledge Donations To Charity

So far Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Tina Smith were two US politicians who have already pledged their donation amounts received from SBF & FTX exchange team to charity.

Unusual Whales Release Contributions List From Exchange Team

Research shows that 196 US lawmakers or one out every three members in Congress took direct contributions either directly or indirectly either from Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) himself or other top executives at FTX – making it one out every three members in Congress respectively receiving payments from them directly or indirectly through various entities such as PACs etc., while Unusual Whales released a list breaking down all these details on their twitter handle recently.

FTX Debtors Reserve The Right To Take Legal Action

FTX debtors have specified that funds can be returned through a designated email account before February 28th 2023 after which they reserve the right „to initiate actions in bankruptcy court“ if necessary for any unpaid claims with interest accruing from the date of initiation.

• The Crypto Fear and Greed Index (CFGI) jumped from 25 to 61 in the past month, indicating a shift from “extreme fear” to “greed.”
• The 39% increase in Bitcoin prices against the US dollar is attributed to a shift in investor expectations regarding inflation and interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.
• Etoro’s market analyst, Simon Peters, noted that financial institution Goldman Sachs’ entry into crypto trading has created more confidence in the crypto market.

Recent statistics have revealed a significant jump in the Crypto Fear and Greed Index (CFGI) in the past month. The Index, hosted on alternative.me, began the month with a score of 25, indicating “extreme fear,” but thirty days later, the score had risen to 61, reflecting “greed.” This rise has been attributed to a 39% increase in Bitcoin prices against the US dollar, indicating that investor sentiment has shifted significantly.

The jump in Bitcoin prices has been attributed to a shift in investor expectations regarding inflation and interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. Etoro’s market analyst, Simon Peters, noted in a statement to Bitcoin.com News that the entry of major financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs into the crypto trading market has also helped to create more confidence in the market. Peters noted that this confidence has led to a surge in Bitcoin prices, with the cryptocurrency reaching a 30-day high of $23,954 per unit on Jan. 29, 2023.

The CFGI score has remained above the neutral range of 50 since Jan. 23, 2023, after spending a significant amount of time below 45 prior to Jan. 14, 2023. Although the score has reached the “greed” range, Peters warned that when investors become too greedy, it signals that the market is due for a correction.

The rise in Bitcoin prices and the CFGI score have been welcomed by many in the crypto industry, as they indicate a renewed level of confidence in the market. However, it remains to be seen if this confidence will be sustained in the coming months.

• South Africa’s Office of the FAIS Ombud has announced that individuals with crypto-related grievances that occurred after Oct. 19, 2022, can now submit such complaints on the agency’s website.
• The agency has said that crypto-related complaints can only be filed against registered financial service providers who must adhere to the country’s General Code of Conduct for authorized FSPs.
• The Office of the FAIS Ombud has made clear that complaints lodged with the agency prior to the Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s crypto asset designation will not be considered, as the agency lacks jurisdiction.

The South African Office of the FAIS Ombud, an independent dispute resolution office, has recently announced that individuals with crypto-related grievances that occurred after the 19th of October 2022 can now submit such complaints on the agency’s website. This announcement comes as the South African government has designated crypto assets as financial products.

The Office of the FAIS Ombud has stated that crypto-related complaints can only be filed against registered financial service providers who must adhere to the country’s General Code of Conduct for authorized FSPs. This code requires „material disclosures, conducting a needs analysis and recommending a product that is appropriate to one’s needs and circumstances.“ The Office of the FAIS Ombud has also made clear that complaints lodged with the agency prior to the Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s crypto asset designation will not be considered, as the agency lacks jurisdiction.

This announcement by the Office of the FAIS Ombud is important, as it provides individuals with the opportunity to resolve crypto-related grievances in a legal and secure manner. It is also a step forward in the development of the crypto-sphere in South Africa, and a sign that the country is beginning to recognize and accept the use of cryptocurrencies.

The Office of the FAIS Ombud has said that all complaints must be submitted through their website, and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. They have also encouraged individuals to provide as much information as possible about their grievance in order to ensure that the process is as efficient and effective as possible.

Overall, the announcement of the Office of the FAIS Ombud is a positive step forward for the crypto-sphere in South Africa. It provides individuals with the opportunity to resolve crypto-related grievances in a secure and legal manner, and is a sign that the South African government is beginning to recognize and accept the use of cryptocurrencies.

• Vueling, a Spanish low-cost airline, is exploring the use of blockchain and NFT technology to enable customers to purchase plane tickets with cryptocurrency.
• The airline has partnered with Criptan, a registered Spanish cryptocurrency exchange, to process customer orders using crypto.
• The functionality is expected to be available on the airline website by Q3 2023.

Vueling, a Spanish low-cost airline, has announced its plans to accept cryptocurrency as a means of payment for its services. In order to make this a reality, the airline is exploring the use of blockchain and non-fungible token (NFT) technology. The company has enlisted the aid of a registered Spanish cryptocurrency exchange, Criptan, to process customer orders using crypto.

The move makes Vueling the first low-cost airline in Europe to accept cryptocurrency as a means of payment. Jesus Monzo, Vueling’s alliances and distribution manager, stated: “This agreement places us at the forefront of new technologies and innovation, further reinforcing our commitment to our customers and offering the best and most advanced tools and solutions on our website.” Jorge Soriano, Criptan’s CEO, further explained that the introduction of crypto payments could improve customer experience by showing customers the potential there is behind the implementation of such solutions.

The functionality is expected to be available on the website of the airline by Q3 2023, and it will be using UATP tech, the global payments network for airlines, although it requires additional development in order to comply with the necessary regulations. According to the airline, the new payment method will be secure, easy to use, and will add value to their customers.

Vueling is the latest in a growing list of companies that are embracing crypto payments. As the technology continues to gain more traction and become more widely adopted, this could be the start of a trend in the travel industry. With Vueling leading the way, it could be the first of many more airlines to accept cryptocurrency payments.