Binance, KuCoin, MEXC Apps Removed from Play Store

India has removed the apps for Binance, KuCoin, and MEXC from the Google Play Store. This follows a similar move by Apple, which removed these apps from its App Store in India on December 28, 2023.

TODAY’S MENU

• India removes binance, kucoin, mexc app from play store

• ETFs Are Initial Steps in Markets Revolution: BlackRock CEO

• Hedera network approves $408M of HBAR for ecosystem growth

• Argentina Registers First Bitcoin Settled Lease Agreement

• Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin Proposes Gas Limit Increase

India removes binance, kucoin, mexc app from play store

Google followed Apple's lead and removed the apps for Binance, KuCoin, and MEXC from the Google Play Store in India. This action came just two weeks after the Indian government's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) sent show-cause notices to nine offshore cryptocurrency exchanges, including these three, for non-compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.

Here's a quick summary of the situation:

• Reason for removal: Non-compliance with Indian AML regulations by the exchanges.

• Which exchanges were affected: Binance, KuCoin, and MEXC.

• What about existing users? If you already have the app installed, it will continue to work for now. However, you won't be able to download new updates or install it on new devices.

This move by the Indian government reflects the country's increasing focus on regulating the cryptocurrency sector. While the government hasn't outright banned crypto usage yet, it's clearly taking steps to ensure compliance with its regulations.

ETFs Are Initial Steps in Markets Revolution: BlackRock CEO

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink believes the recent ETF approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is a first step towards a technological financial revolution in the financial markets. Fink said this during a television interview on the CNBC news channel.

The CEO also noted that the next step that would follow ETFs’ actualization would be the tokenization of every financial asset.

 He said: “ETFs are step one in the technological revolution in the financial markets. Step two is going to be the tokenization of every financial asset.”

BlackRock is an American multinational investment company and one of the financial institutions whose ETF, iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT.O), was recently approved by the SEC. Trading of the spot Bitcoin ETFs kicked off hours after approval, with BlackRock, Grayscale, and Fidelity dominating trading volumes in the early stages, according to reports.

Asset tokenization is considered one of the most promising use cases of blockchain technology. Users believe its potential market size encompasses nearly all human economic activity.

Hedera network approves $408M of HBAR for ecosystem growth

The Hedera Global Governing Council — the body overseeing the Hedera network — has approved allocating 4.86 billion Hedera.

HBARUSD — the network’s native cryptocurrency — worth rogu for further development and advanced decentralized governance.

In a blog post, the council said the lion’s share of the funds, 4.248 billion HBAR, will be directed toward existing initiatives, including the HBAR Foundation, the Hashgraph Association and the DLT Science Foundation.

The funds are part of Hedera’s goal to strengthen its base following its 2023 performance, with over 33 billion real-world transactions on the network. In addition to supporting ecosystem growth, 614.06 million HBAR will be used for the council’s operational costs and to compensate early simple agreements for future token buyers.

The council’s chief financial officer, Betsabe Botaitis, said in the post that the HBAR Foundation and Hashgraph Association grants are slated for disbursement in the first quarter of 2024. The DLT Science Foundation will receive grants as it achieves critical milestones throughout the year.

Botaitis highlighted the vital role ecosystem partners play in boosting Hedera’s rapid adoption. He stated, “With this foundation firmly established, the Hedera Council is happy to continue backing network development and use through these new grants.”

On Jan. 11, the HBAR Foundation and the Algorand Foundation unveiled the DeRec Alliance, which aims to create a decentralized recovery system for digital assets, according to executives from both organizations.

Argentina Registers First Bitcoin Settled Lease Agreement

Argentina has reached a milestone in crypto adoption, registering one of the first contracts involving bitcoin payments. According to La Capital, a local Argentine news outlet, the first Bitcoin-settled lease agreement was recently signed in Rosario City.

The agreement stipulates that the tenant will pay the equivalent of $100 USDT in Bitcoin to the landlord each month, having selected Fiwind, a national cryptocurrency exchange, as the provider of the referential bitcoin price to execute these payments. The contract also determines that the tenant will execute these payments during the first five days of each month to an address provided by the landlord.

While there were records of real estate sales settled in bitcoin before, this is the first lease agreement of this kind, local sources state.

Diana Mondino, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina, had clarified that as a result of the application of the first mega executive order issued by President Javier Milei, which eliminated the lease and rents law, these contracts could be settled in bitcoin, in other cryptos, and also in other assets.

The executive order that enables these agreements will be reviewed by the courts of the country, which have already suspended the effects of some segments awaiting the final decision on the legality of this document. Also, the emergency executive order can be suspended if both chambers of Congress reject it.

Nonetheless, the executive order allows tenants and landlords to legally sign this kind of bitcoin-denominated lease contract that evades having to transact in Argentine pesos, the embattled and devalued national fiat currency.

Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin Proposes Gas Limit Increase

Ethereum ecosystem co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed an increase in the network’s gas limit. This adjustment, aimed at augmenting network capacity, could potentially lower costs for users and enhance transaction efficiency.

Ethereum’s gas limit is the ceiling for the total amount of gas allowed in a single block. Gas, a fee necessary for conducting transactions or executing contracts on the Ethereum blockchain, ensures the network’s operational fluidity. Presently, the gas limit stands at 30 million.

During an Ask Me Anything (AMA) session with the Ethereum Foundation’s research team on Reddit, Buterin suggested a “modest” gas limit increase, proposing a raise to approximately 40 million. This adjustment represents a 33% hike from the current limit. The rationale behind this proposal is to enhance transaction inclusion in each block, thereby boosting overall throughput and network capacity.

While increasing the gas limit could improve network performance, it’s not without risks. Larger blocks require more energy for processing, potentially increasing the likelihood of chain splits and abandoned blocks.

Reflecting on Ethereum’s history, the network has seen a gradual increase in the gas limit, from around 3 million post-launch in 2015 to 15 million following the Berlin hard fork in April 2021.

According to data from Dune, 2023 witnessed a significant spike in network gas fees, with the median price reaching higher than 150 gwei in May, primarily due to the inscriptions frenzy. One gwei equals 0.000000001 ETH. Currently, the average gas price hovers in the low 30s, with an increase since the onset of 2024, particularly for complex smart contract operations. Rising gas fees on the network have led to dissatisfaction among many users, as even basic transactions can become too costly at times.

The proposal has stirred diverse reactions within the Ethereum community. Some, like Gnosis Chain co-founder Martin Köppelmann and Coinbase’s Jesse Pollak, support the increase, with Pollak suggesting a further raise to 45 million. However, Ethereum core developer Dankrad Feist urges caution, pointing out the need to target calldata and blobs per block in conjunction with the overall gas limit in order to get more capacity for L1 applications and rollups.

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