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Are you ready for the crisis? Let us begin.

Russia and Iran Partner on Stablecoin Initiative

Russia and Iran are reportedly working together to create a gold-backed stablecoin.

According to According to the Russian news agency Vedomosti, Iran is working with Russia to create a “Persian Gulf region token” that would serve as a method of payment in foreign trade.

Russia recently began accepting Iranian cargo shipments in a special economic zone called Astrakhan, and the proposed cryptocurrency would help facilitate transactions in the region.

Russia and Iran are among the countries that have banned cryptocurrency transactions, including Bitcoin and Tether, but Russia’s lower house of parliament recently announced a promise to start regulating cryptocurrencies once again in 2023.

Russian lawmaker Anton Tkachev, a member of the Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology and Communications, stressed that a joint stablecoin project would only be possible once the digital asset market is fully regulated in Russia.

Bitcoin back in business?

Bitcoin rose to over $21,000 on January 13 and broke above the $21,500 mark on Wednesday. The precipitous gains now command the attention of Butcoin skeptics, raising the question: where will Bitcoin go from here?

While we are still technically in a bear market, investor sentiment is improving. According to the Fear and Greed Index, a crypto-specific metric that measures sentiment using five weighted sources, investor sentiment about the market hit a monthly high.

However, many analysts stress that Bitcoin needs to continue above the 21K mark in the previous weeks before sentiments turn bullish.

Coinbase to stop operations in Japan

Due to a business downturn in the country, Coinbase is halting its operations in Japan.

The crypto exchange originally began planning its Japanese expansion during the bear market in 2018. Now, with the fallout from FTX still affecting the broader market, Coinbase has decided to regroup and put its Japanese operations on hiatus.

coinbase officially Announced on January 18 that the firm would end its operations in Japan and conduct a full review of its business in the country due to market conditions.

All Coinbase Japan clients will have until February 16 to withdraw their fiat and crypto holdings from the platform. After February 17, the remaining crypto assets held by Coinbase Japan customers will be converted to Japanese Yen. Fiat currency deposits will not be available starting January 20, according to CoinTelegraph.

New Report Names Most Mature Blockchain Hub in ‘Crypto Valley’

He CV Report VC Top 50 2022 was unveiled today in Davos and shows that Crypto Valley, which includes Switzerland and Liechtenstein, is the most mature blockchain hub.

It continued to expand steadily in 2022 due to its regulatory jurisdiction and a determined decentralized mindset exhibited by the 1,135 entities that are built from there.

The CV VC Top 50 2022 report shows that blockchain is becoming a multi-billion dollar industry in Crypto Valley.

Why is Bitcoin rallying?