Russia to use ‘Evil Crypto’ in foreign trade. 2 other stories and a trivia

This line-up of stories will help you discover the latest happenings around the tech world, today

1. Russia to use ‘Evil Crypto’ in foreign trade

In a bid to beat international sanctions, Russia is considering the use of cryptocurrency in settling international trade transactions.

This is according to top government official in Moscow who despite branding crypto ‘evil’ noted that it can be useful in international settlements.

According to Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister, Alexey Moiseev, speaking during the “Banks. Transformation. Economy. 2.0” conference, the current reality is a special case where Crypto assets can be used to bridge the gap that has been created since the war with its neighbors —Ukraine.

He said, “Of course, crypto is generally evil. I believe that people who invest their savings there take a very big risk … But there may be individual situations in which crypto can be used.”

Moiseev further noted that the government would ‘experiment’ with crypto to see the trend and determine its next line of action.

“We’ll experiment … If the bill is adopted, a certain committee will be formed, including representatives of a number of ministries, the Bank of Russia and law enforcement agencies, which will give permission to individual operators to use cryptocurrency in foreign trade transactions.

“It is impossible to do without cross-border settlements in cryptocurrency,” he submitted.

Tech Trivia: What Internet service uses “attachments” to send files?

A. FTP

B. P2P

C. Web

D. Email

Answer: see end of post

2. Wave Mobile Money becomes Senegal’s top fintech service provider

After recording over 12 trillion CFA francs (USD 20.3 billion) transactions in 2022, Senegal’s Wave Mobile Money has become the country’s largest fintech service provider.

The startup, since its inception, has grown its customer base to nearly 11 million active users, including approximately 7.18 million active users, representing 90% of the adult population.

The startup claims it is democratizing the digital payment service sector, and has invested at least 100 billion CFA francs ($169 million).

Speaking on its progress in Dakar, the startup said:

“This represents around 130 billion CFA francs in savings made by Senegalese, particularly thanks to the free electronic payment services for the network of concessionaires of the Senegalese state: payment of electricity bills, water bills, toll fees, and the development of merchant payment in the large distribution.

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“Until 2018, digital financial services on the Senegalese market were charged a minimum of 4%.

“However, the Wave Mobile Money product was built around the needs of the user and proposed a radically inclusive service, with several differential advantages, such as a simplified customer journey supported by innovative technology, diligent handling of claims to reinforce user confidence, and the most accessible costs, i.e., a money transfer at only 1% as well as free services such as deposit and withdrawal of money, bill payments, purchase of goods and services.”

3. GEM pushes investment in Everdome metaverse to $60M

GEM Digital Limited (GEM), a Bahama-based digital assets investment firm, has announced increasing its investment commitment in UAE-based metaverse startup Everdome from $10 million to $60 million.

According to the deal book, GEM’s investment, which comes in the form of a further structured token subscription agreement, will further be utilised in accelerating the development of the startup’s metaverse projects.

Ripples Nigeria gathered that GEM committed $10 million to Everdome in August 2022.

The new investment from GEM is expected to be focused on actions that move Everdome from a conceptual, visionary project into its new phase of delivery and expansion.

GEM’s investment comes in the form of a further structured token subscription agreement.

In addition, Everdome will control the timing and the number of drawdowns under this facility, and has no minimum drawdown obligation.

Trivia Answer: Email

Email, short for “electronic mail,” is one of the most widely used features of the Internet, along with the web. It allows you to send and receive messages to and from anyone with an email address, anywhere in the world.

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