The Weekly Wrap-Up - 28th January 2022

IMF Urges El Salvador to Reconsider Bitcoin’s Status as Legal Tender  

Country Has Made 18% Loss on BTC

(Image: BuyUcoin)

On Tuesday, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) - an organisation fostering international monetary collaboration - urged El Salvador to consider reversing its decision to make Bitcoin legal tender. They stated that using BTC as legal tender puts the protection of consumers at risk and threatens financial stability and integrity.

On September 7th 2021, El Salvador announced Bitcoin would be made legal tender and purchased 410 BTC while its price sat at $46,800. The move was said to have been done to stimulate economic development and create jobs. Since then, BTC has fallen by more than 18% to $36,783.  

Fantom Becomes Third Largest DeFi Protocol by TVL 

L1 DeFi Blockchain Overtakes BSC  

Layer 1 blockchain Fantom has overtaken BSC (Binance Smart Chain) by value locked in DeFi applications to become the third largest DeFi protocol. Fantom’s most highly valued DeFi dApp is the bridging protocol Multichain, which has a TVL of almost $7B.

Fantom’s TVL now sits at almost $12B and its smart contract activity is estimated to constitute 6% of all DeFi. The platform has since dropped back down to fourth place, but the two chains are now neck-and-neck by TVL. Notably, Fantom was the only chain of the top 10 by TVL to grow in valuation last week, while others shrunk during market bearishness. 

GameFi Ecosystem ‘EarnableFi’ Sees 100X Growth

DeFi 3.0 Platform Has Successful Launch 

On Wednesday, the GameFi ecosystem ‘EarnableFi’ launched on Ethereum. Its token $EFI surged by more than 100x after the launch, as buyers anticipate its utility as a facilitator of metaverse and play-to-earn commerce.

The protocol has positioned itself as a utility token that allows holders to earn passive yields for transactions made on many different tokens. The protocol also claims to allow for rapid settlements, whilst contributing to the financial transparency of play-to-earn games and services. The metaverse is predicted by some sources to reach a valuation of $800B by the year 2024.

Samsung Open Flagship 873X Store in Metaverse  

Decentraland Becomes Home to New Virtual Samsung Store

Samsung has become one of many brands pushing for metaverse presence. For a limited time, Samsung will open a virtual version of its Manhattan-based 872 store, in Decentraland. The store, dubbed ‘873X’, will sell NFTs and limited items of metaverse clothing.
Samsung has recently been pushing the development of its crypto-presence. Last week, the company announced that users will be able to purchase NFTs using their new smart-TV models. The company has also invested in several NFT startups such as Dapper Labs and Forte.