According to data from Chainalysis, Turkey was the largest cryptocurrency market in the Middle East in 2021, with the exchange volume expanding by 1,500% y/y, bne Intellinews reports.

Attorney Burcak Unsal, an expert in cryptocurrencies, noted that the Turkish transaction cryptocurrency volume last year was one of the biggest in the world. Statista Portal, meanwhile, presented data showing Turkey was the world’s fourth biggest cryptocurrency market in 2020 in relation to the number of users.

The attraction of cryptocurrencies in emerging market Turkey stems from the high volatility and plummeted value of the Turkish lira (TRY). Since 2020, the chronic depreciation of the lira has driven many private actors to find a more secure way to invest and save their money.

Turkish residents who relied on the dollar and other strong foreign currencies to protect their savings have become more reluctant to rely solely on such fiat money to protect their assets and investments. Thus, cryptocurrencies become more and more popular while the national fiat money is perceived as less stable than digital assets. A similar trend is visible in South America and Africa.

UAE’s Discount store iDay To Day Hypermarket is the first in the UAE to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency payments, Gulf News reports.

This payment method will be accepted for both physical branches as well as Day To Day Hypermarket's online shopping website (daytoday.ae).

The payment process will require your mobile phone. For in store payments, it involves a POS machine located in the stores that will facilitate the transaction. For online shopping payments, simply click on the option of the cryptocurrency payments, a link provided by the website (daytoday.ae) will facilitate the payment there on. In both cases, payments can be processed instantly and in a hassle free manner.

With the launch of the latest advancements in cryptocurrency payment systems, Day To Day Hypermarket has set a benchmark for other retailers in the UAE - not only will it cater to the expats but also to the citizens of the UAE.

According to a new study by CoinGecko, Nigeria and the UAE have been the “most curious about cryptocurrency” since the market crashed recently this year, Zawya reports.

The crypto price tracker had looked at Google Trends data of search items frequently used by Internet users that are interested in cryptocurrency.

With a total search score of 371, Nigeria landed the top spot, having the highest search levels for the phrases “cryptocurrency”, “invest in crypto” and “buy crypto” worldwide. For users in this market, “Solana” was the third most-searched cryptocurrency worldwide.

In the UAE, which had a total search score of 270, residents were searching for “cryptocurrency” and “invest in crypto”.

Top 15 countries most interested in cryptocurrency since April 2022:

1. Nigeria

2. UAE

3. Singapore

4. Australia

5. United Kingdom

6. Canada

7. Georgia

8. Lebanon

9. New Zealand

10. Trinidad & Tobago

11. Pakistan

12. United States

13. Ireland

14. Cyprus

15. Kenya

Luxury jewelry brand Tiffany & Co has announced the sale of 250 diamond and gemstone encrusted pendants for CryptoPunk nonfungible token (NFT) holders, Cointelegraph reports.

The handcrafted CryptoPunk pendants were announced by the jewelry brand on Sunday on Twitter, and are priced at 30 Ether (ETH), equivalent to $50,600 each at the time of writing.

We’re taking NFTs to the next level. Exclusive to CryptoPunks holders, NFTiff transforms your NFT into a bespoke pendant handcrafted by Tiffany & Co. artisans. You’ll also receive an additional NFT version of the pendant. Learn more: https://t.co/FJwCAxw8TN #NFTiff #TiffanyAndCo pic.twitter.com/pyKlWejHv4

— Tiffany & Co. (@TiffanyAndCo) July 31, 2022

Each CryptoPunk is limited to a maximum of three NFTiff tokens that allow them to mint a customized pendant. There are 87 different attributes and 159 colors that can be used to custom design the pendants, and the pendant itself will be composed of 18-Karat rose or yellow gold, based on the color palette of the NFT.

Following the announcement by the Federal Reserve that it was raising interest rates by 0.75 percentage point, prices of both bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH) immediately rose by 4.5% and 5.5% respectively, Cryptonews reports.

BTC’s price soared to USD 22,590, while ETH hit USD 1,580. Stocks also rose, with the broad S&P 500 index up 1% since the announcement and up 2.2% for the day to trade just above the key 4,000 level.

In his press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that “another unusually large increase could be appropriate at the next meeting” in September. However, he added that as rates become more restrictive, it will likely be appropriate to “slow the pace of increases.” Powell also repeatedly made it clear that the Fed’s decisions going forward will be “data-driven,” and said the central bank is “strongly committed to returning inflation to its 2% objective.”

Technavio, a global market research firm, predicts that the real estate market in the metaverse is projected to pass $5 billion by 2026, Cryptonews reports.

The reports highlights the growth will be fueled by how the metaverse will gradually move towards a more mixed reality experience, giving more value to these platforms in which visitors can inhabit, taking annotations and decoding tags for different application-specific purposes; and because of the popularity of cryptocurrencies, which will make this kind of property more approachable and easy to purchase in order to sell or rent, allowing its owners to obtain a passive income.

Another report released last February estimated that metaverse real estate sales would reach $1 billion this year.

Elon Musk’s Tesla has sold 75% of its Bitcoin, worth approximately $936 million, according to its Q2 earnings report, Decrypt reports.

The electric car manufacturer said in a shareholder presentation that “Bitcoin impairment” had a negative impact on its profitability during the second quarter, when it posted $2.5 billion in operating income.

crypto market reacted to the news with Bitcoin (BTC) dropping sharply right to $23,078.18 (2.5%) after markets close.

Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was also down 3% in the last hour following the news from Tesla’s earnings report.

Tesla invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin in February 2021, after changing its investment policy in January to allow it to hold digital assets.

In line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, today launched the Dubai Metaverse Strategy that aims to turn Dubai into one the world’s top 10 metaverse economies as well as a global hub for the metaverse community.

The strategy aims to build on Dubai’s achievement of attracting more than 1,000 companies in the fields of blockchain and metaverse. It also promotes Dubai’s ambitions to support more than 40,000 virtual jobs by 2030. This would further boost Dubai’s economy and support the UAE government’s vision of increasing the number of blockchain companies by five times the present number.

VR and AR are two key enablers of the metaverse, responsible for 6,700 jobs and contributing US$500 million to the UAE’s economy, which is expected to increase significantly in the future. The metaverse provides an array of economic opportunities. Globally, the value of venture capital and private equity financing in the metaverse reached US$13 billion in 2021, while real estate sales in the metaverse surpassed US$500 million last year.

Read full press release.

Elon Musk’s The Boring Company announced that customers will be allowed to pay for rides on Loop, its Las Vegas transit system, with the cryptocurrency Dogecoin, CNN reports.

The new payment option surfaced as the Boring Company opened its first Loop station outside the Las Vegas Convention Center, which already has three stops. The Boring Company hopes to eventually expand to more than 50 stations on the Vegas Strip.

Read the full article.

The South African Reserve Bank will introduce regulations next year that will see cryptocurrencies classed as financial assets to balance investor protection and innovation, Crypto Telegraph reports.

Cryptocurrency use in South Africa is in a healthy space, with around 13% of the population estimated to own some form of cryptocurrency, according to research from global exchange Luno. With more than six million people in the country having cryptocurrency exposure, regulation of the space has long been a talking point.

South African Reserve Bank deputy governor Kuben Chetty, said:

By all definitions, cryptocurrencies are an asset. It’s something that is tradable, it’s something that is created. Some have backing, others do not. Some may have a genuine underpinning, real economic activity.

The Secretary of the Treasury delivered to President Biden a framework for interagency engagement with foreign counterparts and in international fora as directed in the President’s Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets (March 9, 2022).

Framework objectives:

• Protect consumers, investors, and businesses in the United States and globally by promoting technology and regulatory standards that reflect U.S. values;
• Protect U.S. and global financial stability and mitigate systemic risk;
• Mitigate illicit finance and national security risks posed by misuse of digital assets and counter and respond to efforts by foreign adversaries to drive standards and promote their protocols;
• Reinforce U.S. leadership in the global financial system and in technological and economic competitiveness, including through the responsible development of payment innovations and digital assets and by advancing technology and regulatory standards that align with U.S. values;
• Promote access to safe and affordable financial services; and
• Support technological advances that promote responsible development and use of digital assets by advancing research and relationships that increase shared learning.

Indian crypto trading is plummeting after the government introduced a 30% income tax and a 1% tax per transaction on crypto trades, Crypto Telegraph reports.

The Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) came into effect on July 1 and appears to have negatively affected traders as exchange volumes dropped from 37.4% on BitBNS and 90.9% on CoinDCX by July 3.

The new tax law is forcing crypto exchanges to leave the country and set up shop in Singapore and Dubai.

Nischal Shetty and Siddharth Menon, co-founders of WazirX, have now reportedly shifted operations to Dubai, although they still plan on doing business out of Mumbai, Block Works reports.

While the new taxation in India appears restrictive and discouraging to investors, Dubai has a full exemption on cryptocurrency taxes — similar to its treatment of personal income.

The emirate’s crypto regulator, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, began handing out crypto exchange licenses in March, and two months later Dubai announced its first law regulating digital assets.

EU officials on Thursday secured an agreement on what is likely to be the first major regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency industry, CNBC reports.

The European Commission, EU lawmakers and member states hammered out a deal in Brussels after hours of negotiations. The move came a day after the three main institutions finalized measures aimed at stamping out money laundering in crypto.

Stefan Berger, the lawmaker who led negotiations on behalf of the European Parliament, said:

Today, we put order in the Wild West of crypto assets and set clear rules for a harmonized market that will provide legal certainty for crypto asset issuers, guarantee equal rights for service providers and ensure high standards for consumers and investors.

DTTcoins will be exhibiting at DIFC Fintech Week taking place June 28-29 and the Ritz Carlton DIFC. 

At its booth, No. B24, DTTcoins will be showcasing its White Label solutions for companies interested in launching their brokerage exchange with a globally regulated and trusted broker.  

For more information on DTTcoins White Label solutions, please click here. 

According to a survey conducted by MasterCard in March and April this year, 51% of Latin American consumers have conducted at least one transaction with crypto assets, and over 33% of them have used stablecoins for everyday purchases.

The survey further revealed that 54% of Latino consumers are optimistic about the performance of digital assets as an investment. Meanwhile, two-thirds of Latinos want a hybrid payment option that includes both crypto and traditional payment methods for their day-to-day operations.

Walter Pimenta, executive vice president, Products and Engineering, Mastercard Latin America and the Caribbean, said:

More and more Latin Americans are showing interest in cryptocurrencies and want solutions that facilitate access to the crypto world. At Mastercard, we are designing these solutions to expand digital inclusion and strengthening alliances that guarantee operability and support