The Land of the Rising Sun. The Red Dragon. The Underground Ninja City.

Why is it that Asian countries get all the coolest nicknames?

That first one’s Japan. The second one is China. We made up that third one.

It may be because Asia was once considered a continent shrouded in mystery and intrigue. It’s still a place of strict honor codes and constant innovation.

Could the land that gave us fireworks, the opium trade, and the best take-out option soon become crypto’s promised land?

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☕️ PayPal Pauses UK Purchases 🇬🇧 💸

PayPal U.K. has announced that it will pause all crypto purchases for U.K. customers starting in October.

This decision comes as PayPal attempts to comply with some additional regulations enacted by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The new regulations entail additional steps to be undergone by crypto providers before customers can purchase crypto.

Though purchasing will be frozen, Paypal U.K. customers will be able to sell their crypto at any time.

But remember, if this crypto embargo goes on for too long, British citizens may begin donning headdresses and throwing Bitcoin mining machines into the River Thames in a startling reversal of the Boston Tea Party.

☕️ Gitcoin-Shell Partnership Draws Fire 🐚 🔥

Gitcoin, the open-source platform, has partnered with Shell Gasoline in a move that’s drawing significant criticism, according to a recent press release.

Crypto has already come under fire for its environmental impact, but publicly partnering with a gas company sends a pretty brazen message about Gitcoin’s priorities.

“Blockchain, with its potential to solve intricate coordination issues, is particularly suited to the energy industry, providing innovative ways to incentivize the adoption of renewable energy sources, as well as transparency and verifiability for carbon markets,” read the press release.

Though the controversial move has some accusing Shell of using Gitcoin for “greenwashing” the practice of large corporations doing the bare minimum to appear more environmentally conscious than they actually are.

Gitcoin’s motivations for this partnership are still mysterious, but it’s possible that Shell sweetened the deal with the coveted, VIP “All You Can Drink” gas card.

☕️ Forget it, Jake, It’s Sugartown 💭 🏢

Zynga, the studio behind casual gaming hits such as “Farmville” and “Word With Friends” is launching “Sugartown” their first Ethereum NFT game.

Players can participate in Sugartown by owning one of the 10,000 NFTs that will be released later this year.

The game itself will feature a cartoon town full of characters, with players able to engage in minigames throughout the world. Players can even stake their NFTs to earn Sugar, the non-crypto, in-game currency of Sugartown.

Last year, Zynga was acquired by Take-Two Interactive, the publisher behind “Grand Theft Auto” with the intent to make blockchain-backed games in the future.

But regardless of what the future holds, remember, this is the team behind “Farmville” and this only ends one way: with your aunt desperately pinging you for energy on Facebook Messenger.

Spilling the Beans

Is Asia the New Stablecoin Utopia? 🇸🇬 👑

Asia.

It’s hard to sum up a continent containing nearly 50 countries and more than 4.74 billion people… but watch us go.

If Africa was the cradle of mankind, the birthplace of humanity, then Asia is humanity’s eccentric, white-haired uncle.

He’s always coming up with inventions that seem useless at first, like calligraphy, gunpowder, and the printing press, that all eventually rise to international acclaim.

Asia’s always chuckling at his own private joke because he knows something we don’t. He’s on the forefront of innovation and it seems like he’s being paid really well for it.

What we’re trying to say here is that Asia, at least in culture and in tech, seems leaps and bounds ahead of the world.

A tourist returning from Tokyo will tell you how “futuristic” everything seemed. And hey, Asia was way ahead of everyone on the mask thing. Even if Asia was where the whole pandemic start–

No. We’re not doing that. Ahem.

It should come as no surprise that Asia is also well ahead of the West on crypto.

Though China underwent a years-long crypto ban, Hong Kong is currently poised to become one of the world’s foremost crypto hubs.

But the news we’re really jazzed about is coming out of Singapore.

This week, Singapore’s central bank, The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), released a clear, regulatory framework for stablecoins.

Stablecoins in Singapore must meet certain requirements. One of the most important among them is that each stablecoin must hold a minimum total base capital of 1 million Singaporean dollars — the equivalent of $740,000 in greenbacks.

Additionally, any stablecoins being traded in Singapore must grant all redemptions within five business days of the request.

This all seems relatively simple, but as the American stablecoin bill lumbers through Congress, we’ve proven it’s not.

Many countries and jurisdictions are currently working out their own stablecoin frameworks, but we have to tip our hats to Singapore, because they won the race fair and square.

For now, Americans will have to swallow their pride, hope for the best, and Singa-pour one out for our chances at that first prize, stablecoin trophy.

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Bitcoin remains range-bound as volatility plummets 🔻 🪙
Source: TheBlock + TheBlock

📃 Summary:

Meme of the Day

Personally, we prefer 76 premium gasoline. The notes of basil and mint really elevate the flavor palette.

Crypto 101

Greenwashing: A marketing tactic in which corporations appear to be more “green” than they actually are.

Some would argue that to qualify as greenwashing, the business must spend more on advertising than they do on actually reducing their environmental impact, but over time it’s become an umbrella term that covers all insincere climate marketing.

The term reputedly started in the 1960s in the hospitality industry, when hotels began urging guests to reuse their towels to help save the environment.

The Last Sip

If Singapore is going to roll out definitive stablecoin regulation, here’s some more Asia-based regulation that we would like to see.

3. A clear delineation between Ronin and general highway bandits.

2. A comprehensive guide for Korean BBQ as to which sauces and marinades contain soy sauce.

1. Humane and sustainable practices in regard to Godzilla preservation.

Stay Caffeinated,

Coffee & Crypto Team

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