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Hyundai creates history as the first automaker to plunge into the community-based NFT market

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Hyundai Motor Company charted history, becoming the first carmaker to dip its toe into the Non-fungible token [NFT] space. As per today’s announcement, the South Korean automotive giant marked its foray into the online community-based NFT market in collaboration with the ‘Meta Kongz’ NFT brand.

While the firm’s NFT Discord and Twitter channels opened on April 15, the official NFT website will go live in May 2022, sources revealed.

The automotive entity said that the partnership will provide its users with the “Hyundai brand experience in the metaverse by sharing NFTs depicting its mobility solutions”. Through the dedicated channels of the Hyundai NFT community, the firm aims to manage the asset value of its NFTs.

The online platforms will provide an open 24/7 communications channel between the company and community members, with real-time updates on the asset value of its NFTs. 

With the goal to reach a larger audience, the automotive firm also released a short film depicting the Hyundai NFT universe concept ‘Metamobility universe,’ which reflects its vision of the ‘Metamobility’ concept revealed at CES 2022.

Besides that, it will also issue 30 limited editions of‘ Hyundai x Meta Kongz’ NFTs on April 20 to commemorate the release of the film.

Hyundai heads into Metaverse

The profits earned from the sale of Hyundai NFTs will be utilized for the project’s management and community members, the firm announced.

Speaking on the landmark occasion, Thomas Schemera, Hyundai Motor’s Global Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Customer Experience Division, said, “The NFT universe will extend the firm’s brand experience, especially with MZ generation, in a completely new way, further reinforcing our commitment to innovation in both the real world and in the metaverse.”

Further adding, “We are extremely excited to introduce ‘Metamobility’ through our own NFTs and start this journey with ‘Meta Kongz’.”

As covered by TronWeekly, Italian luxury car-maker Lamborghini headed into the world of non-fungible tokens or NFT by announcing the launch of space-themed artwork called ‘Space key’. 

A few months earlier, Car manufacturer, Mc lauren Automotive chose InfiniteWorld as its official metaverse partner. The collaboration will launch a non-fungible token collection based on McLaren’s luxury cars.

Cryptocurrencies Including Bitcoin and Ethereum Accepted as Fees in this School in Dubai

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Following the global acceptance of cryptocurrencies, a new school in Dubai has revealed ambitions to accept the fledgling asset class as a means of tuition payment.

Parents and guardians will be able to pay tuition fees for their children in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum, according to local news site Zawya.

Citizens School, which is set to open in September 2022, has stated that parents and guardians will be able to pay tuition fees for their children in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

This is the first time that parents in the Middle East will be able to pay for education with digital currency.

Cryptocurrencies will revolutionize the educational sector

Citizens Schools established a cooperation with a cryptocurrency payment provider that would aid in the translation of all bitcoin and Ethereum payments to Dirhams, with the goal of providing more flexible payment options for parents.

Citizens School, which will open its doors in September 2022, will accept payments in the two major cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), giving parents a variety of payment alternatives.

Citizens School will also accept traditional means of payment as well as interest-free monthly payment alternatives.

Cryptocurrency payments are accepted through a partnership with a digital currency company that processes cryptocurrency payments and converts them to Dirhams immediately (AED).

“Introducing the possibility to pay tuition fees using cryptocurrency goes beyond merely giving another payment option,” said Hisham Hodroge, CEO of Citizens School.

“Its goal is to pique people’s interest in emerging trends and game-changing technology that will have a significant impact on the lives of future generations. It’s also a way to pique interest in blockchain technologies, which Citizens School plans to use in the future across numerous parts of its academic and administrative operations.”

Educational institution showing their drive towards the acceptance of cryptocurrencies is a big leap toward global adoption. Last month a South Korean university announced that it will be issuing NFT degrees to its students.

Global acceptance of crypto is nearing. Countries and institutions that fail to realize their true potential will fall behind.

Quincy university rolls out an option to accept donations in 32 different cryptos

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Quincy University is the latest university to accept cryptocurrency donations in the form of Bitcoin, Shiba Inu, Dogecoin, and other cryptocurrencies. Quincy Institution, founded in 1860 by Franciscan friars, is a Catholic university that focuses on science, liberal arts, and professions.

Officials at QU revealed on Monday that they may now accept donations in digital currency. Because Quincy University is a 501(c)(3) charity, all donations, including bitcoin, are tax-deductible. In addition, QU receives the entire amount of the gift.

Bitcoin, Ethereum, ChainLink Token, and Litecoin are among the 32 digital currencies accepted by Quincy University.

“More and more people are investing in digital currency, and we don’t see that slowing down anytime soon,” said Matt Bergman, senior director of advancement. “QU is always looking for ways to make it easy for donors to support our students and initiatives.”

Quincy University

Skyrocketting number of universities that accept crypto

The University of Puget Sound was the first American university to accept bitcoin donations when it did so in 2014. With the aid of payment processing provider BitPay, an alumni sent the educational institution 14.5 Bitcoins, which were valued at roughly $10,000 at the time.

Since then, the number of colleges that have adopted cryptocurrency has exploded. Participants in the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School’s blockchain program may now pay their tuition fees in Bitcoin. Some of the top universities that accept crypto include the University of Nicosia in Cyprus, King’s College in New York, Innovation and Entrepreneur Business School in Spain, European School of Management and Technology in Germany, Financia Business School in France, The University of Cumbria in the United Kingdom, and FPT University in Vietnam.

Recently a South Korean university announced that they will issue NFT degrees to all 2830 graduates.

By removing the need for government-backed currencies, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have the potential to revolutionize the nature of money itself. It also has the ability to alter the wealth distribution in society significantly. However, many more institutions would have to follow in the footsteps of these specific universities and begin conducting business utilizing digital assets in order to attain this aim. Since then, the number of colleges that have adopted cryptocurrency has exploded.

Terra [LUNA] leads the altcoin pack as it soars to 18% in 7 days

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As major cryptocurrencies started to slowly recover from the covid induced blow, lesser-known altcoins such as Terra [LUNA] defied the sustained bearish momentum in the broader market. The asset price appreciated by 18.10% in a span of a week and is short by a mere 7% from its established peak on 8th November this year.

At the time of writing, the asset is changing hands at $48.01 with a 24-hour trading volume of $1.68 billion. Its market cap was found to be at $18.83 billion. The 13th ranked cryptocurrency rose by 5.42% in the daily hours.

Terra [LUNA] Daily Chart

LUNABUSD 2021 11 29 15 45 10

As gauged from the above 1-day price chart, the Bollinger Bands [BB] does not depict any volatility in the coin market. The MACD suffered a bearish crossover on 28th November before bouncing back up and exhibiting a bullish signal. On the other hand, the Klinger Oscillator [KO] is confirming the bullish narrative.

Terra [LUNA] 4-hour Chart

LUNABUSD 2021 11 29 16 00 40

In the 4-hour chart, the Awesome Oscillator [AO] is aligning with the bulls. The Chaikin Money Flow [CMF] rising above the zero line is projecting strong capital inflows in the market. In terms of the trading activity, the Relative Strength Index [RSI] indicator climbing above the 70 mark is depicting overbought conditions.

Terra, the firm behind the native token was launched in April 2019 by South Korean duo Daniel Shin and Do Kwon. Its LUNA token is used to maintain the price stability of its ‘stable-coins pegged to USD/EUR, similar to Tether’s usage of the US Dollar as a peg to build the USDT cryptocurrency.

Apart from that, the platform has witnessed the deployment of a wide catalog of decentralized finance or DeFi projects. Other products include a protocol for synthetic assets that follow real-world stocks called “Mirror,” a yield protocol dubbed “Pylon,” and a savings platform called “Anchor.” Overall, the Terra ecosystem is an expanding pool of diverse crypto financial products.

BTS and Justin Bieber agency, Hybe catches the NFT bug

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As the Korean wave hit the world, K-pop bands like BTS rose to immense fame. While the band had already established a prominent presence in South Korea, BTS further expanded and amassed fans from all around the globe. Now, jumping into the crypto-verse like several other celebrities, the agency that manages the K-pop band, Hybe revealed that it would be diving into the NFT space.

Non-fungible tokens aka NFTs have spruced up the adoption rate of crypto while giving artists the recognition that they deserve. An array of people entered the NFT market starting a whole new fervor around the industry. Prominent firms, sports personalities, actors, directors, singers, social media influencers have all decided to jump on to the NFT wagon.

Hybe, a South Korean K-pop management firm, that also manages notable pop stars, Justin Bieber, and BTS, decided to enter the NFT space by creating a whole new marketplace itself.

BTS fans in for a digital treat?

Hybe was all set to join hands with South Korea’s largest crypto firm, Dunamu to roll out a new marketplace that would carry out the sale and trade of NFTs of BTS and other artists that Hybe represents.

BTS fans who are also known as “Army” have time and again expressed immense love for the band. The sale of merchandise of the band along with photo cards has witnessed drastic growth over the years. Therefore, taking it to the digital world would be a treat for the firm as well as the fans.

The firm has no intentions of entirely replacing offline concerts. Instead, Hybe hopes that both online and offline concerts could co-exist. Additionally, with this marketplace, the management platform aspires to deliver a wide range of “experiences and activities to fans around the world.”

Even though the firm is based in South Korea, the imminent NFT platform would be established in the United States. The forthcoming NFT marketplace will most likely be launched in the first half of 2022.

Responding to Bloomberg, the agency said,

“As we prepare to enter the NFT business in a sustainable manner, we will directly participate in the operation and implement fan-oriented policies.”

Binance CEO indicates that progress is coming, but gradually

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Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) spoke at the Future Blockchain Summit Dubai on Day 2 of the gathering. The CEO has been actively vocal about the activities of the government, sharing his two cents on the same. In the Summit, the Binance CEO explained why it is futile to expect the entire monetary system to change in one day.

The Binance CEO spoke on the current stance of regulatory authorities on digital assets and the adoption rate for the new asset class. While we have already seen countries like El Salvador take a huge leap of faith, South Korea has allowed a few exchanges to operate in the nation in partnerships with banks.

Binance CEO believes that patience is the key

Changpeng Zhao explains why he believes that expecting crypto adoption in a short period is futile by reminding the audience that the current financial architecture has been around for centuries. Therefore, Zhao stressed the importance of patience when it comes to crypto adoption.

The main reason it is not easy to regulate blockchain-based products is because of the explosion of blockchain-based games and NFTs. While the industry keeps expanding at unparalleled rates, the regulatory authorities are not getting enough time to bring out regulations related to blockchain-based financial products.

Communication is of utmost important

Every crypto investor has noticed the heightened attention of the government in the industry. However, Binance CEO considers that this fact indeed has a positive side to it. The reason being simple, nobody knows what’ll work. It’s just a big hit and trial. Before making laws regarding cryptocurrencies, many nations are trying one thing and the other to tame the new asset class.

Binance CEO Chenpeng Zhao claims that the most important aspect while implementing regulations involves communication with the entities involved. He further announced that communication channels of Binance are always open for regulatory authorities.

The World’s first community-driven NFT, manga & anime series on the Cardano Blockchain – ADA Ninjaz

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The ADA Ninjaz NFT is a collection of randomly generated 2D avatars. The designs are inspired by the popular Seinen anime art style, combining attributes from traditional ninja lore with modern-day clothing assets. The lore will be focused around a raging war between 3 individual clans (more details to come), each with their own unique identity and reason for fighting for their clan’s survival.

On top of collectible NFTs, ADA Ninjaz will be the world’s first community-driven manga series. Owners of ADA Ninjaz NFTs will be given voting power to decide the ultimate fate of each clan. Founded by two friends whose goal is to develop one of the strongest anime communities within the NFT space. We want to show the world how incredibly fun, intelligent, and powerful the anime community is and that all of us can do anything when united as one.

This is a tribute to the digital age, ADA Ninjaz is taking the themes of manga and anime that billions of people grew up in love with, integrating it with blockchain technology, and opening up a world of opportunities within the metaverse, both for developers and the future community.

VISION

Imagine a world where like-minded Ninjaz come together to engage, play, and just have good old fashion fun. Maybe it’s in the physical realm, with clan meetups to discuss the latest news on all things ADA Ninjaz and anime. Perhaps it’s in the virtual realm, where you can log in as your purchased NFT and fight in a battle royale-style tournament, or even attend a virtual music festival.

What if, instead of watching your favorite 2D anime on a computer monitor, you get to watch it in 3Dand from the point of view of your favorite character? This is the future and vision of the ADA Ninjaz ecosystem. We aren’t just bringing manga into the NFT-universe. We are striving for something so much more while respecting and appreciating the beauty of the NFT world and community. The ADA Ninjaz team aims to see Ninjaz merchandise worn by groups of friends around the streets.

For it to be represented at comic-cons and people to cosplay as their favorite ADA Ninjaz. And of course, to have developed multiple successful indie platformer games enjoyed by millions of gamers. These ambitions are big, but with you — the investors and supporters, the incredible people already associated with ADA Ninjaz, and of course, the wider NFT community, this is possible.

Sneak Peek 8
The World’s first community-driven NFT, manga & anime series on the Cardano Blockchain – ADA Ninjaz 6

WHY CARDANO?

Firstly, the whole of ADA Ninjaz thanks the team over at Ethereum who have been able to deliver an incredible smart contract platform for NFTs to thrive. Without such adoption, the ADA Ninjaz concept may not have had reason to exist.

That being said, it is well understood that the biggest constraint, by far, on the current Ethereum network is the network congestion and consequently high gas (transaction) fees. There are so many issues that come with this, from gas wars through to lost money from failed transactions.

For example, a recent NFT sale cost users $790,000 in failed Ethereum transactions. That alone is enough in transaction fees to purchase an entirely new set of NFTs!

But the biggest problem that we see too often is that smaller buyers (<$500 to invest in NFTs) are immediately priced out of most, if not all big NFT launches. Say you only have $200 to spend on NFTs this month, then paying the same, if not more, in gas fees to buy an NFT, isn’t plausible.

Ethereum is therefore currently a play area for the big boys with big money. That is unfortunately not fair for the smaller investors, the ones who want to grow their understanding of this space, grow their NFT collection, and more often than not, feel a part of a virtual community.

This is why we’ve decided to launch our NFT collectibles on the Cardano blockchain — so that the smaller players have a chance at owning their very own NFT and also be part of this amazing community.

Additionally, the ADA Ninjaz team believes in the Cardano ecosystem. It is okay that the Cardano ecosystem is still young, with smart contracts not yet really mature. We are young too. The beauty of a growing blockchain protocol is that we get ample time to also work on developing our product range and offering. The ADA Ninjaz Team is in this for the long haul.

CORE PARTNERS

NFT-Maker Pro will lead the development of the backend solution and help us launch our project on the Cardano blockchain. Having the Godfather of Cardano NFTs himself, Patrick Tobler and the team at NFT-Maker Pro, rest assured things will be as smooth as they can be on the backend front, as he is second-to-none when it comes to all backend solutions on Cardano.

Le4f Agency will lead the development of the front-end solution. Led by CEO, Kristian Portz, they will create a classic and timeless website for us to share the vision and story that is the ADA Ninjaz universe. With a superb team that is highly experienced in creating a user interface that is engaging, accessible, and most importantly in sync with the Cardano backend, this partnership will enable ADA Ninjaz to really take its front-end to the next level.

Ignacio J. Durruty – master storyteller. A sublime wordsmith, Ignacio possesses significant prowess when it comes to creating stories in fictional universes and screenwriting. His works have received a long list of accolades, particularly in the cinematic space, including, but not limited to:

• 2nd place – 2019 Barcelona Film Festival

• Finalist – 2019 Amsterdam Film Festival

• Finalist – 2019 Davinci Film Festival

• Semi-finalist – 2019 TMFF

• Official Selection – 2019 Las Vegas International film & Screenwriting Competition

Mirai Music Productions, a super Los Angeles-based music production duo that has been onboarded to develop an original soundtrack for ADA Ninjaz.Lead by Riccardo Lovatto and Jacopo Mazza, they will take charge of all things music, transcending written words into sounds and music that will be nothing short of breathtaking.

Riccardo, a music composer, is well-versed in the music of anime and manga, having lived in Japan for several years taught seminars at universities there, whilst playing at Jazz clubs all over the country. In 2018, his first recording “Shinnen” reached the “Top 300 All Genre” chart of Deezer South Korea. Hence, it is of no surprise that they are exactly who the ADA Ninjaz team was looking for to produce the OST.

Manga Panel Origins
The World’s first community-driven NFT, manga & anime series on the Cardano Blockchain – ADA Ninjaz 7

Unleash Your Inner Ninja!

Head on over to the ADA Ninjaz Discord channel and say hello!

Stay up-to-date with all things Ninjaz on Twitter.

Things to look forward to in the coming days and weeks:

1. The launch of the ADA Ninjaz website and official sale date.

2. The story and lore of the ADA Ninjaz universe.

3. Transparency in the initial allocations/giveaways of NFTs.

4. Development roadmap and whitelisting

For now, stay tuned, keep calm and be a ninja!

Here’s why all eyes are on XRP

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Even as other cryptocurrencies cooled off, XRP continued to slowly inch towards its yearly highs. It rallied by 12% over the past 24 hours, which catapulted its weekly gains to a whopping 60%.

The crypto-asset has performed significantly well this month despite Ripple being embattled by the lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC]. As a matter of fact, the blockchain company forged important deals including its partnership with South Korean GME Remittance to join the former’s payment network RippleNet.

This came just a month after Japan’s money-transfer provider SBI Remit joined hands with mobile payments service Coins.ph and digital asset exchange platform SBI VC Trade to conduct remittance payments from Japan to the Philippines using Ripple’s on-demand liquidity [ODL] service.

The latest string developments have helped XRP to stay afloat $1. To top that, the rally that followed can be described as a sigh of relief to the investors as the altcoin increased from a modest $0.5.

XRP
Here's why all eyes are on XRP 10

XRP’s Development Activity

Well, for one XRP’s price recovery was backed by a solid rise in development activity. This was according to the crypto-analytic platform, Santiment, which noted that the XRP network was closing in on a higher daily GitHub development rate than Bitcoin, an activity that has rarely occurred. Decoupling from Bitcoin has been one of the major drivers for the crypto-assets price action of late.

In addition to that, it was not just the development activity on the digital asset’s network that was approaching new all-time high levels at the time of writing. Its daily active addresses too followed a strong uptrend coupled with high trade volumes and soaring prices.

Santiment’s tweet regarding the same read,

“XRP has pumped to $1.189 today for an impressive 3-month high. Before it decoupled from the crypto pack, we saw hints of development activity skyrocketing. XRP’s team is now submitting the highest github activity rate in the asset’s history.”

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Here's why all eyes are on XRP 11

CBDC being explored by New Zealand Reserve Bank

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The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is the latest one to jump the CBDC bandwagon. The country’s central bank announced that it is exploring the potential for a central bank digital currency, CBDC “to work alongside cash as government-backed money,” and is assessing the effects around the emergence of crypto assets such as stablecoins.

According to the Reserve Bank, the main objective is to be responsive to digital innovations in money and payments to make resilient and stable cash and currency systems in the country. With that in mind, New Zealand plans to roll out consultations for CBDC working alongside cash as a form of government-backed money. The official press release also mentioned that the Reserve Bank intends to launch a set of “money and cash issues papers for feedback from August to November,” which build upon the “Future of Cash” consultations from 2019.

Assistant Governor Christian Hawkesby said

“Subsequent papers will look at the potential for a central bank digital currency [CBDC] to work alongside cash as government-backed money, issues arising from new electronic money forms including crypto-assets [such as Bitcoin], and stable coins [such as proposed by a Facebook-led consortium], and how the cash system might need to change to continue to meet the needs of users.”

Hawkesby asserted that the country wants to explore the possibilities for a central bank digital currency to help approach some of the drawbacks of reducing physical cash use and services. He went on add,

“A CBDC, similar to digital cash, might well be part of the solution, but we need to test our assessment of the issues and proposed approach before developing any firm proposals.”

CBDC Developments Worldwide

With the latest development, New Zealand now joins the list of some of the world’s major economies currently examining the potential for a CBDC. While China has paved the way. Several countries such as South Korea and Sweden have moved from exploration to piloting stages. Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Thailand are all in different stages in the exploration and issuance of the digital version of their respective sovereign currencies.

Additionally, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính has also reportedly asked the country’s central bank to start exploring a central bank digital currency as it gains traction across the world in response to the massive popularity of cryptocurrencies.

Bithumb falls into troubled waters after Thai partner calls out exchange for fraud

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A popular South Korean cryptocurrency exchange, Bithumb, is slapped with a lawsuit by a former partner based in Thailand.

Cryptocurrency exchanges have found their way below the crypto spotlight. As more people flocked into the market, exchanges were kept busy all the time. The increased demand for crypto this year further agitated this trend. Moving over the surge in popularity, a major crypto exchange fell under the purview of Hong Kong officials for breach of contract as well as fraud.

Back in 2018, Bithumb had reportedly rolled out a platform in Thailand. This platform, however, did not garner any support from the exchange, further paving the way for immense damages to the Thailand firm. While the firm’s name remains under the wraps, it had decided to sue the South Korean exchange for backing out.

Bithumb could be sued for breach of contract

As per a recent report by the Korea Times, the Thailand partner has been prepping to sue Bithumb Global Holdings, GBEX, and the executives involved.

Even though the BXA coin never made the cut, it was speculated that the platform was trying to sell BXA coins through its Thai partner. The former Thai partner elaborated on the same and pointed out that once the exchange pulled the plug on the BXA business, the Thai platform became unnecessary. This further caused the closure of the Thai firm and also some “serious damage.”

The spokesperson added,

“BGH and GBEX collectively own a 49-percent stake in the joint venture in Thailand, and are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Bithumb Korea, so we sued Bithumb Korea’s executives last year and decided recently to file lawsuits in Hong Kong against the Hong Kong subsidiaries and their executives, who are related to this issue more directly.”

The BXA coin put the exchange in the wrong light. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Intelligent Crime Investigation Unit officers even went on to raid the exchange’s headquarters in Gangnam back in September 2020.