Crypto Scoop: Nigeria and South Africa Rank Among The World’s 50 Crypto Hubs

Growth and crypto adoption continues across the crypto space as we see new additions and innovations. In this edition of the crypto scoop, we review 

• Price moves and sentiments surrounding top cryptocurrencies
• Ethereum’s Zhejiang testnet
• Tether’s 2023 performance report
• Crypto adoption and regulation across the globe

Ethereum Testnet Zhejang Stimulates the First ETH Staking Withdrawals

One of three dress rehearsals for the much anticipated Shanghai hard fork, the Zhejiang testnet, was deployed on Tuesday at 15:01 UTC. The Zhejiang testnet allowed the withdrawal stimulations for the first ETH staking withdrawals. 

The test network is intended to give developers a practice run for withdrawals similar to those that will take place on the primary Ethereum blockchain after its eagerly anticipated Shanghai upgrade goes live next month. 

Additionally, Ethereum-based NFT collections, which had dropped from $9.3 billion to $3.7 billion in 2022,  saw a 38% jump in January 2023. 

Tether Reports $700M Profit and More Assets Than Liabilities

Tether, the USDT issuer, released a report demonstrating its strength of reserves to drive more trust in its stablecoins.  Tether announced a profit of $700 million in the 4th quarter of 2022 and stated that it no longer holds any commercial paper as part of the reserves backing its USDT token.

According to the report, Tether has consolidated assets worth at least $67 billion, more than its liabilities, which total $66 billion, and also holds excess reserves worth at least $960 million.

Lagos, Nigeria, Ranks in The Top 20 Crypto Hubs in The World

According to research by Recap, a crypto asset management company, Lagos, Nigeria, is one of the top 20 global crypto hub cities. In addition to Lagos, five other African cities—Luanda in Angola, Ibadan in Nigeria, Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Pretoria in South Africa—are listed among the top 50 crypto hub cities. While Lagos ranks 14th, London, Dubai and New York City lead the list. 

While the crypto hub United Kingdom is yet to recognise cryptocurrencies formally, this week, The Central Bank of Britain announced its pushing forward with its CBDC. A consultation paper on the CBDC was released on February 7, highlighting that the CBDC will be subjected to rigorous privacy and data protection standards. 

Dubai also released crypto regulation for its crypto virtual service providers, highlighting the conditions for operating within the emirate. The Mississippi senate in the United States also passed a bill anticipated to protect crypto miners from discrimination. While the bill may have passed the senate, it still needs to be signed by the governor before it can be executed. 

Since the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched the digital rupee pilot last year, the CBDC pilot in India has attracted 50,000 users and 5,000 merchants, according to a local news source. However, while recognising the milestones of its CBDC, India’s central bank deputy governor emphasised the need to proceed slowly so the CBDC testing can go as smoothly as possible.

Saudi Arabi Announces Partnership with Sandbox to Push Metaverse Plans

The Sandbox and the Saudi Arabian government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) during a partnership ceremony at the Leap 2023 conference in Saudi Arabia for future metaverse development. Saudi Arabi and Sandbox have both been very vocal in their efforts to push the limits of the Web3 space to create new opportunities.

While Saudi Arabi and Sandbox confirmed a partnership, the partnership's scope and plans are yet to be made public.