Crypto Trends Weekly Jan. 15 – 21

Breaking crypto news from the last week (Jan. 15 – 21, 2022):

Jan. 15: Arab Bank Switzerland, the Geneva-based affiliate of Middle Eastern lender Arab Bank PLC, has extended its crypto offerings focused on wealthy investors. It includes ten major decentralized finance (DeFi) tokens, such as AAVE, COMP, UNI, and more.

Jan. 16: American retail chain Walmart is preparing to enter the metaverse by creating its own NFT collections and cryptocurrency. This information is based on several trademarks filed by the retail giant with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Jan. 17: The first country in the EU, Spain, is trying to control the way cryptocurrencies are marketed, with new restrictions on influencers’ promotions. According to the new rules published Monday, posts promoting crypto-assets must now include the appropriate disclaimer. Fines for non-compliance could reach €300,000. The new rules will come into force in February.

Jan. 18: Based in Bahrain, crypto exchange platform Rain has raised $110 million in a Series B funding round, led by global venture capital investors, including Kleiner Perkins, Coinbase Ventures, and Paradigm.

According to a survey of the payment giant Visa, almost 25% of small business owners across nine countries said they intend to embrace digital currencies as a form of payment in 2022. Also, 13% of consumers predicted retail stores will begin allowing crypto settlements in the next 12 months.

Jan. 19: Carry1st, a South African publisher of social games and interactive content across Africa, has raised a $20 million Series A extension led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with investments from Avenir and Google. Carry1st will use this funding to expand its portfolio, teams, and user base, as well as develop Web3 infrastructure in Africa to support play-to-earn gaming.

Jan. 20: Russia’s central bank (CBR) proposed banning the use and mining of cryptocurrencies in Russia, citing threats to financial stability, citizens’ wellbeing, and its monetary policy sovereignty. The central bank’s hard line against crypto reportedly dovetails with the position of Russian security services.

Twitter has launched its long-anticipated NFT profile picture feature for Twitter Blue subscribers. It allows iOS users to link their crypto wallets to Twitter and display their NFTs in a hexagonally-shaped profile picture as proof of authenticity.

Jan. 21: Bitcoin lost as much as 8.7% Friday and dropped below $38,000 to its lowest level in 6 months. After the Federal Reserve signals its intention to withdraw stimulus from the market, riskier assets like cryptocurrencies have suffered.