The Digest contains the following:

• Luna Foundation purchases $100 Million in AVAX to reserve stablecoins

• Shopify support is launched by Strike (NYSE:) while Wyre acquisitions Bolt for $1.5billion are completed.

• Yellen believes that crypto regulation must reduce the risk of causing disruption and encourage innovation.

• Near Protocol (NEAR), gains 27% per day and closes at an all-time high.

Luna Foundation Purchases $100 million in AVAX to Support Stablecoin Reserve

Luna Foundation Guard bought 35,767 BTC after it announced its intention to support its UST stablecoin worth $10 billion. LFG plans to add Altcoins to its portfolio.

Luna Foundation Guard (AVAX) has made public its $100 million purchase. The LFG claimed that the purchase “marks the start of a diverse pool of layer one crypto assets helping support the UST peg.”

LFG uses AVAX to back the UST stablecoin. According to Avalanche, the LFG chose to add AVAX to its reserve ahead of other Altcoins because of its “rapid growth and vast fan base.”

Flipsider:

• The news helped AVAX to break free from the market’s bearish trend, sending the coin up 6% in the last 24 hours.

Avalanche (AVAX) price chart 24 hours a day Source: Tradingview

Why you should care

The Luna Foundation Guard is attempting to protect the ecosystem from volatility and contractions in UST Demand by backing the UST stablecoin it holds with assets.

Shopify Support Launched by Strike, Bolt Purchases Wyre at $1.5 Billion

Strike, the world’s leading digital payments platform, built on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, has integrated with global e-commerce giant Shopify. Jack Mallers, Strike’s CEO, announced the integration during the Bitcoin 2022 conference. He said that it was easy to use.

The integration means that Shopify’s two million merchants can now accept payment in bitcoin. These merchants will now be able to receive payments in near real-time via the lightning network. This is a huge improvement on the typical 2-15 day settlement times for electronic payments.

Bolt Financial, the global payment company announced it had made an agreement with Wyre for the purchase of the cryptocurrency startup. The deal was confirmed by insiders who were familiar with it. It is worth approximately $1.5 million.

Bolt claimed that Wyre would be integrated into Bolt’s system by the end the year. This will allow Wyre retailers to have access to cryptocurrency. As per the PR statement, the merger will work to “decentralize commerce” and “simplify digital shopping.”

Flipsider:

• According to Mallers, McDonald’s, Walmart (NYSE:), Home Depot Best Buy and (NYSE:) are two of the major global retailers that will accept Bitcoin through the Lightning Network.

Why you should care

As the crypto industry moves closer to mainstream acceptance, firms are providing more opportunities and ways for users to spend their cryptocurrency.

Yellen: Crypto Regulation should reduce risks and support innovation

Janet Yellen from the U.S. Treasury, who was well-known for anti-bitcoin comments, is now making her first talk about crypto. Yellen stressed the importance of crypto regulation to reduce risks at an American University conference.

Yellen explained that, “as banks and other traditional financial firms become more involved in digital asset markets, regulatory frameworks will need to appropriately reflect the risks of these new activities.”

She feels that government regulation of the sector is necessary to ensure consumers, investors and business protection from fraudulent statements. She also emphasized that the government should “support” and “ensure responsible innovation.”

Yellen expressed her desire for the crypto economy to be used in improving the U.S. payments system, which a Treasury official has remarked to be “too slow, costly and not sufficiently inclusive.”

Flipsider:

• Yellen also warned that cryptocurrencies invite risks that could “disrupt the financial system and our economy.”

Why you should care

If crypto regulation is properly adopted experts believe that it will lower speculation and promote the adoption of cryptocurrency assets.

Near Protocol (NEAR), gains 27% in one day, closes in at all-time high

Near Protocol (NEAR), which is a Layer 1 high-speed network with a fast transaction speed, gained 27% in the past 24 hours, at a moment when most of the cryptocurrency market was trading sideways.

Near Protocol’s 24 Hour Price Chart (NEAR). Source: Tradingview

Over the last seven days, NEAR has gained 45% – the largest gains of any crypto ranked in the top 10. Near Protocol currently trades at $19.2184, which is just 5% below its record high of $20.45 on January 10.

Here is the seven-day price chart of Near Protocol (NEAR) Source: Tradingview

Near Protocol is the 16th-largest crypto market. It trades at $19.2184. Near Protocol’s massive gains followed speculation around the possible launch of a Near Protocol native stablecoin.

Near Protocol is a popular Altcoin with institutional investors. Near Protocol, backed in part by FTX Ventures (A16Z), Three Arrows Blockchange and Dragonfly Capital, has raised $500 million since January.

Flipsider:

• Stablecoins face increased regulation because they are seen to be direct competitors of central bank-issued CBDCs.

Care is a must

Near Protocol, a smart-contract platform, competes against and Avalanche as a quick, low-cost Layer 1 option.

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