Mandala Minutes Edition 1
Mandala Exchange
Apr 5. 8 min read
Hello everyone! We are back with ‘Mandala Minutes’, a dedicated biweekly newsletter that scours the internet to inform and educate people about what’s happening out there in the crypto world in an engaging and entertaining manner.
Crypto prices are in the green again and we are feeling good. While we celebrate this moment with you, we’re also reminded of the p-word that stands for patience. In a market which never closes, it’s easy to lose sight of the long-term game, but sticking with your conviction and doing your own research is one of the best strategies that exist out there. With that out of the way, let’s get you updated!
Bitcoin = Gold 2.0
More people already own Bitcoin than gold in the United States. While 11% of US investors owned gold in 2020, 26% owned Bitcoin in 2021, which means approximately 20-30 million Amercians own crypto. Bitcoin ownership has tripled in the last three years, while gold & stock ownership has remained stagnant. Publicly listed companies MicroStrategy, Square and Tesla own Bitcoin on their balance sheet. El Salvador made Bitcoin a legal tender. It would be a fair assumption to make that in a digitally connected world, our gold would be digital & decentralised in nature too.
We’re getting closer to the Ethereum ‘merge’
Here’s a fun fact: Google searches for ‘Ethereum merge’ have hit an all-time high. The merge is simply the event through which Ethereum will switch from a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism to a proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism. This is being done to improve scalability and reduce energy consumption. The PoW mechanism has drawn heavy criticism for its high energy usage. Few days back one of the “test” versions of the merge was successfully completed. After the ‘merge’, Ethereum validators who stake the most crypto will validate the most transactions.
Governments can’t ignore crypto no more
At first, you ignore it, then you regulate & tax it. Governments all around the world are trying to figure out how to regulate & tax the new basket of digital assets. India implemented a tax law that would tax crypto income at 30%, and would limit the ability to offset losses from one asset against the profits of another. Thailand’s SEC has banned crypto as a payment method. The UK government plans to announce new crypto regulations this week, particularly around stablecoins. The Biden administration in the US is anticipating $11 billion in new revenue over the next decade from revised crypto rules. It expects around $5 billion in additional revenue in 2023 alone. The European Union is considering a crackdown on non-custodial wallets. Examples of non-custodial wallets are MetaMask, WalletConnect and hardware wallets such as Ledger and Trezor. Firms interacting with non-custodial crypto wallets would be expected to collect personal details about the wallet’s owner, according to a new proposal.
Nuggets from the cryptoverse📊
- The holders of BAYC NFT holders couldn’t be happier after the launch of $APE, the utility & governance token adopted by the Ape Foundation. By holding ApeCoin, you can become a part of the Ape DAO. It will serve as the native currency of the Bored Ape ecosystem. Sandbox’s parent company Animoca Brands announced that their blockchain game Benji Bananas has implemented $APE as the in-game currency. It’ll be interesting to see how this one goes.
- Long-time crypto skeptic and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen cautiously acknowledged the benefits of crypto and blockchain tech, saying that “innovation in the payment system can be a healthy thing”. She also suggested that Bitcoin and digital assets are not a fad, and that “crypto has obviously grown by leaps and bounds”.
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Florida would accept Bitcoin for state taxes. Bitcoin HODLing Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis has almost finished drafting a bill to incorporate crypto into the U.S. tax code. She has been working on the Responsible Financial Innovation Act since last year.
- Institutional crypto broker-dealer Galaxy Digital announced that it facilitated Goldman Sachs’s first over-the-counter (OTC) cryptocurrency transaction. Goldman Sachs is the first major U.S. bank to have made such a crypto transaction. Crypto can also be found on the home page of Goldman Sachs’ website.
- Terra’s token LUNA hit an all-time high after the project’s founder and CEO confirmed that it had bought over $1 billion in Bitcoin since January.
- Samsung and Qualcomm invested in FreedomFi, which makes firmware and hardware to power Helium’s token-powered 5G network. FreedomFi’s tech allows individual node operators to earn HNT tokens for providing internet service to nearby devices.
- Crypto ATM operator Bitcoin of America added Dogecoin (DOGE) to its list of available assets. DOGE rose almost 20% on the news.
- A stablecoin on the Solana blockchain, Cashio Dollar, was exploited for around $52.8 million and lost practically all of its value.
- Web browser Opera now supports eight blockchains: IXO, Nervos DAO, StarkEx, Ronin, as well as the potentially much more familiar blockchains Celo, BTC, Polygon and Solana. Opera has nearly 400 million users worldwide.
- Hackers stole $625 Million from Ronin Network (RON) in the largest ever crypto theft. The network is connected to the Axie Infinity online game. Ronin Network said hackers stole 173,600 Ether and $25.5 million worth of USDC tokens. It took Ronin six days to discover the hack.
- DeFi protocol Aave had its V3 upgrade, which will introduce updates like L2 scaling solutions, gas optimizations, higher borrowing power, risk management tools and new crypto wallet integrations. Aave is the largest protocol by total value locked.
From the World of Web3, NFTs & the Metaverse🔮
- The world’s largest NFT marketplace OpenSea confirmed that it would soon start listing Solana NFTs. Solana is the second-largest NFT ecosystem behind Ethereum, with an estimated market cap of $1.5 billion across its myriad collections. Currently, Solana offers faster and cheaper transactions than Ethereum mainnet.
- Ukraine launched the Meta History Museum of War, a digital NFT collection that chronicles recent events in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Proceeds will go towards the Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation.
- Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed Instagram was working on bringing NFTs to its platform in the coming months.
- Samsung has partnered with Nifty Gateway to create a smart TV NFT platform. Nifty Gateway’s marketplace will appear on Samsung’s new premium TVs, letting owners view and buy NFTs from the couch.
- Qualcomm is launching a $100 million investment fund to support companies building out the metaverse using AR, MR, or VR. AR/VR chips represent 17% of the company’s $10.7 billion chip revenue.
- WWE signed a deal to Launch NFTs through Fanatics’ Candy Digital. The NFT digital trading cards will feature famous wrestlers.
- NFT marketplace Rarible now supports NFT assets minted on Polygon. Rarible already supports Ethereum, Tezos, and Flow NFTs.
- The Sandbox announced partnerships with HSBC, Europe’s second-largest bank, and Paris Hilton. Animoca Brands will help HSBC develop esports and gaming experiences for its brand partners. Paris Hilton performed a DJ set at SXSW that was streamed in Sandbox’s virtual world.
- GameStop is launching an NFT marketplace by the end of Q2 2022.
- The US Department of Justice brought fraud charges against the duo behind Frosties, an NFT project alleged to be a ‘rug pull’. This was the first known case of charges against a rug pull, which refers to a project’s creators vanishing with funds after false promises of future benefits and utility.
From the world of Mandala...
GoodCrypto Advanced Algo Trading.
We are proud to announce that we have partnered with GoodCrypto, a multi-exchange trading and portfolio management app, available on both iOS and Android. It boasts an impressive 250k registered users! Besides Mandala, GoodCrypto supports trading on 25 of the largest crypto exchanges!
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Mandala Takes Over Sydney Australia
We recently launched a full takeover real world advertisement campaign in Syndey, Australia.
This digital billboard campaign will be targeting Australia’s largest, by volume, trading age groups across several universities and their surrounding venues in Sydney.
To tie in with our Australian Marketing Campaign, we have also run some interviews through a top tier Australian publication company, Stockhead. You can catch up on some of this content at the links below.
https://stockhead.com.au/experts/stock-insiders-mandala-ceo-and-crypto-expert-joe-reiben-on-the-us-regulatory-outlook-the-ukraine-impact-and-mandala-madness/
https://stockhead.com.au/cryptocurrency/australian-crypto-traders-are-getting-screwed-on-fees-mandala-ceo/
https://stockhead.com.au/stockhead-tv/two-crypto-experts-discuss-the-current-market-correction-regulatory-shifts-and-the-2022-outlook/
Safemoon
We are still on track for the Safemoon fixes to be completed in April and will be sure to update our community on any changes there.
We isolated the issues that caused the SFM launch to be delayed and have scheduled the work to resolve them. The SFM listing was a bit more complex than usual due to the custom tokenomics involved which ultimately caused us to delay. We work in very measured software development schedules (weekly sprints, they’re called) and had to fit this work in alongside everything else we are currently working on and leave time for testing, as well.
P.S. Our team is diligently working towards refunding those who deposited SFM while deposits were open. We will be bulk distributing reimbursements, so please bear with us as we work through that process.
Mandala Madness
Mandala Madness has been well received and we look forward to watching these pots grow as our volume grows!
We have already distributed over $24,000 in prizes this year!
So, remember to lock up that MDX and get trading! The more the exchange volume, the larger the prize 🙂
We also continue work on an interactive Dashboard for Mandala Madness to display the current prize pool, allow you to calculate your odds of winning, and more.
If you are new to Mandala, make sure you read up on what Mandala Madness is all about and enter for your chance to win a share of the prize pool!
SHIB Trading Contests
Back by popular demand!
The SHIB community continues to show their interest in our Mandala trading competitions.
We currently have 50 Million Shiba Inu up for grabs!
Curious how to enter?
1. Each $25 SHIB market buy = 1 Entry
2. We will randomly select winners on April 9th @5PM UTC
Start trading SHIB:
https://trade.mandala.exchange/en/trade/basic/SHIB_USDT
Community FAQ of the Week
1. Why is CMC not reporting the correct price for MDX again?
CMC is not reporting price properly for Mandala Exchange Token (MDX) at this time due to the fact that the volume reporting for the exchange is being worked on, which impacts all base pairs traded on the exchange. As the Mandala Exchange is the primary market for the MDX token, the exchange issue must first be resolved in order to properly display the MDX token price.
2. How do I get my CSV file for my tax filings?
In order to export your 2021 trade history from Mandala, please open a support ticket with our customer support team.
Make sure to go watch our recent AMA with our tax partner, Accointing, to learn more about all things crypto taxes!
You can find a recording of the AMA HERE.
3.Where does the Safemoon listing stand; are we still on track for April?
The Safemoon listing is still on track for early to mid-April testing and release, based on the latest updates from our dev teams, who have been working to ensure Safemoon tokenomics are properly implemented upon relaunch.
4.Why has the roadmap been removed from the website?
We feel it is more productive and better received if we continue to update our community on any current progress within our Mandala Minutes newsletter, rather than having progress bars for Roadmap items, as directions can change in an instant in this industry.
5.Are Ontario users still able to use the exchange?
As part of our continuing compliance efforts, Mandala & Binance have updated their Terms of Use to provide that Ontario (Canada) has become a restricted jurisdiction, effective March 31, 2022 at 5:00PM (UTC). Regrettably, Mandala Exchange can no longer continue to service Ontario-based users.
Users will be able to withdraw their funds until April 15, 2022 at 5:00pm (UTC). We will keep our users up to date on any future changes regarding compliance.
