Ukraine
Andy Serkis, as Gollum, Stands with Ukraine on Colbert: Watch
It’s always fun to watch talented voice actors jump from character to character, which is what Andy Serkis did during a recent visit to the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Despite doing press for his recent turn as Alfred Pennyworth in The Batman, Serkis humored Lord of the Rings megafan Colbert by impersonating several characters from Tolkein’s universe, including a very topical rendition of a Ukraine-invading Gollum. Explaining how he managed to voice 132 different characters in the Lord of the Rings audiobooks, Serkis used a prop microphone to mime the physicality of each of the characters. After shuffling through the likes of Gandolf and Elron, Serkis brought out the hobbit Gollum, who he famously voiced in the Lord of the Rings movies. “Gollum was on this...
Ukraine finds unlikely ally in efforts to bar Russian access to crypto: The Central Bank of Russia
Recently, Ukraine has called for “sabotage” of everyday Russians’ crypto assets due to an ongoing war between the two countries. Among many, its European allies have also voiced mounting concerns that Russia may use crypto to bypass Western sanctions. But ironically, it appears that one of the greatest proponents of barring everyday Russians and financial institutions from accessing cryptocurrencies is actually the Central Bank of Russia, or CBR, itself. As reported by local news outlet tass.ru on Thursday, the CBR continues to adhere to its position of proposing to ban the issuance, mining, and circulation of cryptocurrencies in the Russian Federation. A CBR official stated: “The Central Bank currently supports the position that was previously announced ...
Finance Redefined: Uniswap builds token-swap feature for Ukraine, LUNA surpasses Ether, and more
The crypto community has emerged as one of the leading aid providers for Ukrainians, as crypto donations surged over $50 million. This week, many in the decentralized finance, or DeFi, community have come forward to donate and make it simpler for other people to donate to Ukraine. LUNA continued its price dominance with another double-digit surge over the past week and also flipped Ether to become the most staked altcoin. 1Inch launched a new secure peer-to-peer, or P2P, swap that the firm claimed could open the gates to several new use cases. Uniswap builds an interface to swap altcoins into ETH donations for Ukraine On Tuesday, decentralized exchange, or DEX, Uniswap launched an interface which directly converts ERC-20 tokens into Ether (ETH) and sends them to the official crypto w...
Russian national will use sales of her burning passport NFT to support Ukraine
Olive Allen, a Russian national and artist who has lived in the United States for more than 11 years, has burned her mother country’s passport in the hopes of raising awareness and funds related to the military conflict in Ukraine. Speaking to Cointelegraph on Friday, Allen described herself as “a child of new Russia” and said the country would always be a part of her identity, but she had chosen to cut ties with it based on its recent actions in the Ukraine. Standing in front of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in New York City, Allen burned her Russian passport — which she said was the only copy she had — and planned to auction the video as a nonfungible token (NFT), with the proceeds going to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. “I do not consider Putin’s Russia my home...
Ukraine DAO raises over $6M via NFT sale to aid Ukrainian citizens
UkraineDAO, the decentralized autonomous organization created by Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova, Trippy Labs and PleasrDAO members, crowdfunded 2188 ETH, or $6.1 million, for a 1/1 Ukrainian flag NFT. Proceeds will go to nonprofit organizations in Ukraine that are helping those affected by the Russian invasion. The NFT sale was hosted as a PartyBid auction, allowing people to pool resources and bid collectively for fractionalized ownership of the digital Ukrainian flag. Contributors will receive ERC-20 tokens in the form of LOVE tokens depending on the donation amount. At the time of writing, the NFT has not been fractionalized and the funds have not yet been distributed. 1- $LOVE TLDR (and thread) ✅ Funds (over $6M / 2100ETH) safu in the ukrainedao.eth multisig...
Here is why deVere Group CEO expects Bitcoin to clock $50k this month
Nigel Green believes the Ukraine crisis and institutional investor interest could spur a price surge He explained that the recent developments have paraded Bitcoin’s key traits Since hitting an all-time peak, Bitcoin has been the epitome of fluctuating currencies, but CEO of Financial services firm deVere Group Nigel Green believes that the asset is likely to rise (in the coming months) from its 14th place among the most valuable currencies in the world today. Pointing to its current momentum, the CEO has predicted that Bitcoin could hit $50k before the end of March. Green backed his projection citing the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and a growing appetite for institutional investment as the impetus that will sustain the push to the predicted price. The financial services mogul held tha...
Ukraine scraps token airdrop plans but will soon mint NFTs
Ukraine has cancelled the planned airdrop and will instead release NFTs to support the country’s armed forces Earlier today, spoofing spams appeared to show Ukraine had initiated the now-cancelled airdrop Amidst the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, people from various ends of the world have set up initiatives to support Ukraine and the citizens caught in this humanitarian crisis. Notably, a sizeable chunk of the donations have been completed in cryptocurrencies. The Ukrainian government had planned to airdrop a token to donators, but these arrangements have been squashed. Just hours ago, Ukraine’s vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, announced that “after careful consideration,” the government has scrapped the plans and indi...
Anti-war Russians start donating crypto to support Ukraine
While the West is growing increasingly concerned over Russia’s potential use of cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions, some Russians are using their Bitcoin (BTC) to help Ukrainian people. Pavel Muntyan, a renowned Russian animation producer and creator of the animated web series “Mr. Freeman,” has called on anti-war Russians to support Ukrainian citizens amid Russia’s ongoing military attack on the country. Muntyan took to Twitter on Tuesday to announce the opening of a cryptocurrency donation address for Russians who want to support Ukrainian people anonymously as Russia has banned its citizens from helping people in Ukraine. On Feb. 27, Russia’s General Prosecutor’s Office officially warned that any assistance to Ukrainians amid Russia’s “special operation” in the country would be conside...
Bitcoin a ‘good bet’ if Fed continues easing to avoid a recession — analyst
Bitcoin (BTC) has the potential to become a “good bet” for investors if the Federal Reserve does everything it can to keep the U.S. economy afloat against impending recession risks, according to popular analyst Bitcoin Jack. The independent market analyst pitted the flagship cryptocurrency, often called “digital gold” by its enthusiasts, against the prospects of further quantitative easing by the U.S. central bank, noting that the ongoing military standoff between Ukraine and Russia had choked the supply chain of essential commodities, such as oil and wheat, resulting in higher global inflation. For instance, consumer prices in Europe jumped 5.8% year-over-year in February compared to 5.1% in the previous month, greater than the median economist forecast of 5.6% in ...
New York state ramps up blockchain monitoring to enforce sanctions
New York state’s efforts to enforce sanctions against Russia have ramped up a gear with the Department of Financial Services, or DFS, expediting the procurement of additional blockchain analytics technology. According to a statement released Wednesday, the department will use the technology to help detect exposure to Russian individuals and entities subject to federal sanctions, by the virtual currency businesses licensed by the department. NY Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an executive order Feb. 27 directing state agencies to divest from Russian institutions and companies, as well as entities that provide them with support. She said: “New York is proudly home to the nation’s largest Ukrainian population and we will use our technological assets to protect our people and show Russia that w...
The Blessed Madonna, Róisín Murphy, More to Perform at Fundraising Rave for Ukraine
In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, London-based music collective R3 Soundsystem are planning a fundraising rave to support humanitarian efforts. The event will take place on Friday, March 11th at the South London club Venue MOT and will run for nine hours, from 10PM to 7AM. Craig Richards, The Blessed Madonna, and Róisín Murphy will perform DJ sets, among others. “As part of the fundraiser, we will raise crucial funds destined for aid, refugee assistance and evacuations,” R3 Soundsystem said. “The money raised, the group added, will go to Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft (Alliance for Development Help), Fulcrum UA and All Out to provide humanitarian help on the ground, and support people in Ukraine and refugees in the neighbouring countries that they are f...
Analysts say bulls will aim for $48K now that Bitcoin’s ‘accumulation phase’ has begun
Investor sentiment across the cryptocurrency ecosystem has seen a significant shift in the positive direction over the past week, despite events in the wider world. Currently, Bitcoin (BTC) is back above $43,500 and many altcoins are also witnessing double-digit gains. Crypto Fear & Greed index. Source: Alternative The ongoing conflict in Ukraine and recent actions taken by governments to limit access to banking services may have helped to shine a light on the value of holding cryptocurrencies, which offers some protection against uncontrollable events and what some might perceive as government overreach. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the price of BTC has oscillated between $43,350 and $45,400 on March 2 as the world awaits some form of resolution to th...
