Bitcoin and Ether rose in Wednesday morning trading in Asia, with all other non-stablecoin top 10 cryptocurrencies also gaining ground as China on Tuesday said it will relax some Covid rules in response to protests. The demonstrations started last week and spread to several cities, rattling capital markets around the world.  

See related article: Bitcoin price follows slide in Asia equity markets amid growing China protests against Covid-19 lockdowns

Fast facts

• Bitcoin rose 1.5% to US$16,467 in the 24 hours to 8 a.m. in Hong Kong, while Ether gained 4.25% to trade at US$1,219, according to CoinMarketCap.
• Dogecoin saw the biggest gains in CoinMarketCap’s top 10 list, rising 6.75% to US$0.10, bringing its gains for the past seven days to 30%. Dogecoin has risen in recent weeks as long-time advocate Elon Musk hinted it may be used for payments in a revamp of the Twitter social media platform that he bought in late October.
• XRP rose 2.1% to change hands at US$0.39. The gains came despite Coinbase Global Inc., the largest U.S.-based crypto exchange, saying its wallets would no longer support XRP,  as well as Bitcoin Cash and Stellar tokens, from January 2023 citing low usage. Investors seemed unconcerned by this as all three tokens gained over 1%.
• The total crypto market capitalization stood at US$834 billion, down 18% from US$1.023 trillion on Nov. 9, or before the FTX.com exchange filed for bankruptcy.
• Trading volume in the past 24 hours fell 13.05% to US$43.27 billion.
• U.S. equities had a mixed Tuesday. The Dow Jones rose less than 0.1%, while the S&P 500 Index fell 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite Index closed down 0.6% in a third straight day of losses for the latter two indexes.
• Investors are looking to Wednesday when the U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will speak on the state of the economy and inflation. The Fed has raised interest rates by 75 basis points four times this year to slow inflation, but is expected to raise by 50 basis points in the Dec. 13-14 meeting.
• The Fed has been hiking interest rates since March this to try to slow inflation, raising them from near zero to a 15-year high of 3.75% to 4%, and have signaled that rates may end up exceeding 5%. The Fed has indicated it will continue to raise rates until inflation reaches a target range of 2%. The consumer price index showed inflation was running at 7.7% in October, down from 8.2% in September.

See related article: NFT images of anti-lockdown protests in China flood OpenSea

Reuters

Adidas To Investigate Misconduct Allegations Against Kanye West

• Adidas AG (OTC: ADDYY) ADDDF initiated a probe against Kanye West into allegations of inappropriate behavior after receiving an anonymous letter making several allegations.
• The investigation follows a report by Rolling Stone magazine that detailed alleged incidents of inappropriate behavior by Ye toward staff and prospective employees.

Microsoft Vulnerable To EU Antitrust, Triggered By Salesforce

• Microsoft Corp MSFT will likely face an E.U. antitrust investigation as regulators intensify their scrutiny of its practices in a case triggered by Salesforce.com Inc’s CRM workspace messaging app Slack.
• In 2021, Slack alleged to the European Commission that Microsoft had unfairly integrated its workplace chat and video app Teams into its Office product.
• Slack urged the E.U. competition enforcer to order the U.S. software giant to separate Teams from the Office Suit and sell it separately at fair commercial prices.
• The Commission reportedly prepared the ground for an investigation.

Apple’s Key Supplier Reportedly Loses Over 20,000 Workers At China iPhone Plant After Violent Protests

• More than 20,000 employees, most new hires, have reportedly left a key Apple Inc AAPL supplier’s main iPhone-making plant in Zhengzhou, China, after violent protests broke out at the facility earlier this week over unpaid dues.
• The slew of departures from the Foxconn HNHPF factory would hinder the company’s previous target of resuming full production by the end of November.

Wall Street Journal

Volkswagen Losing Share In Its Single Biggest Market, China

• Volkswagen AG VWAGY VWAPY said that despite some sales gains in recent months, it expects its market share in China to be around 16% this year, down from 20% since 2019.
• The German giant is also facing soaring energy costs, supply-chain issues, and delays in delivering in-house software resulting in a disrupted model-release schedule.
• China has been Volkswagen’s cash cow for years, making the market-share erosion a particular concern.

Bloomberg

Amazon Aims To Invest $1B Annually In Movies To Be Released In Theaters

• Amazon.com AMZN is reportedly planning to expand its latest streaming content to a more traditional setting by investing $1 billion each year toward running its new Prime Video releases in movie theaters.
• The company hopes to release 12 – 15 films annually through this new investment allocation, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.

Mercedes Introduces Annual Subscription To Boost Vehicle Efficiency

• Mercedes-Benz Group AG DMLRY plans to charge owners of its upcoming line of expensive electric cars a subscription fee of $1,200 a year to boost their ability to accelerate quickly.
• The subscription package, designed for Mercedes’ upcoming EQ all-electric models, resembles Tesla Inc’s TSLA “Ludacris mode” introduced in 2016, which gives drivers an acceleration boost for a one-time fee of $10,000.
• Bayerische Motoren Werke AG BMWYY faced so much backlash in July for trying to charge $18 a month for heated seats that the company released a public statement defending the decision.

Techcrunch

Amazon Pares Back On Ambitious India Edtech Dreams

• Amazon.Com, Inc AMZN will shut down Amazon Academy, an online learning platform it launched in India for high-school students last year.
• Amazon will wind down the edtech service in the country in a phased manner starting August 2023.
• Those who signed up for the current academic batch will receive a full refund.

Benzinga

Netflix Goes Aggressive On Gaming Venture To Boost Revenue Stream

• Netflix Inc NFLX has put up more than a dozen job listings on its website for Netflix Games Studio’s Los Angeles office.
• Netflix is hiring a game director to work on “a brand-new AAA PC game.”
• Netflix sought a candidate with “experience with FPS and third-person shooter games” and “extensive experience working on live service games.”

Cardano Stablecoin Project Shuts Down Over’ Funding, Timeline’ Uncertainty After FTX Collapse

• Ardana, a DeFi and stablecoin ecosystem building on Cardano (ADA/USD), halted development on Thursday, citing “funding and project timeline uncertainty.”
• Ardana Labs said it would keep the project open-source for builders while “treasury balances and remaining funds will be held until another competent community dev(eloper) team takes over our work.

Tesla’s Recall Woes Multiply As 80,561 Imported And MIC Electric Vehicles Now Impacted In China

• Tesla Inc TSLA has filed for a voluntary recall of 80,561 cars in China, according to a notice filed with China State Administration for Market Regulation. This comes when the company is struggling in the country amid slowing demand.
• Vehicles covered under the recall include 67,698 units of imported Model S and Model X vehicles with a production date between Sept. 25, 2013, and Nov. 21, 2020, and 2,736 units of imported Model 3 vehicles, produced between Jan. 12, 2019, and Nov. 22, 2019, as well as 10,127 Made-in-China Model 3 cars.

Ford Recalls 518,993 Vehicles In US Over Potential Cracked Fuel Injector

• Ford Motor Company F has urged the owners of 2020-2023 MY Bronco Sport and Escapes with 3-cylinder, 1.5L engines to visit their dealership to inspect for a potentially cracked fuel injector.
• The automaker said a cracked fuel injector while the engine is operated could cause fuel and/or fuel vapor to accumulate near hot surfaces, resulting in a potential under-hood fire.

MetaMask Triggers Crypto Community Over User Data Collection Move: ‘No Factor More Important Than Consumer Privacy’

• The cryptocurrency community is not pleased with MetaMask’s decision to collect users’ IP addresses and Ethereum (ETH/USD) wallet addresses during on-chain transactions.
• According to a revised privacy policy agreement published by ConsenSys on Nov. 23, when you use Infura as your default RPC provider in MetaMask, it will collect your IP address and your Ethereum wallet address when you send a transaction.

Stellantis Develops Fresh Retailer Model in Europe In Support Of Its EV Ambitions

• Stellantis N.V. STLA said it would reorganize its European dealer networks in July 2023 to cut costs and support its investment in electrification.
• Starting next summer, the parent company to brands like Jeep, Dodge, Fiat, Maserati, and Peugeot said it would end all current sales and services contracts with dealers in Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, with the rest of Europe to follow, for all 14 brands.

SSE Divests 25% Stake In Electricity Transmission Network Business For £1.5B

• British energy company SSE Plc SSEZY said it plans to sell a 25% minority stake in its electricity transmission network business, SSEN Transmission – to Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board for £1.456 billion.
• The transaction is expected to fuel growth in the Transmission business and the wider SSE Group.
• The stake sale process for SSE’s electricity distribution business is expected to commence in early 2023.

Baxter Recalls WatchCare Incontinence Management System Due To Interference Risk

• The FDA classified Baxter International Inc’s BAX recall of hospital bed systems as the most serious type of concern that it could lead to life-threatening injuries or death.
• Baxter initiated the recall of its WatchCare Incontinence Management System.
• Baxter warned users about the potential for WatchCare’s radio frequencies to interfere with other medical devices.

Photo via Pixabay

In the wake of the Chinese crypto ban, miners from the authoritarian nation relocated to the formerly up and coming hub for crypto, Kazakhstan. However, the narrative did not lay out according to the plan, breaking nationwide power outages, along with substantial hike in natural gas prices further leading to a hostile environment for crypto miners in Kazakhstan.

Chinese journalist, Colin Wu took to Twitter today noting that in lieu of an increase in natural gas prices in Kazakhstan, the nation has witnessed several protests break out. Furthermore, given the comparatively wasteful operation of crypto mining, the global mining community recommeded local cryptocurrency miners to “pay attention to their personal safety”.

Due to the increase in natural gas prices, a nationwide protest broke out in Kazakhstan. The mining community reminds local cryptocurrency miners to pay attention to their personal safety.

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) January 5, 2022

Crypto mining firms exit Kazakhstan

This is not the first time that crypto mining has posed a threat to the energy preservation in Kazakhstan. Last year, towards the end of Q3 the nation was facing an electricity crunch in South Kazakhstan that was expected to intensify during the bitter cold winters. Following these concerns, the government planned to impose restrictions on Bitcoin mining to ensure ample electricity to the people.

Furthermore, last year, during the month of November, crypto mining firms began to exit Kazakhstan due to lack of adequate electricity supply. Xive was one of such firms that left the country as winter approached. Despite fair warnings the nation’s government failed to take any substantial steps, now winter has come and the country is seemingly unprepared.

Little sad to shut down our mining farm in south KZ. Last container is ready to be sent. So much work, people, hopes are ruined. Country risk played out pic.twitter.com/J8ZMg6GeUI

— Didar (@didar_bekbau) November 24, 2021

Crypto mining bans across the world amid energy crisis

Kazakhstan is not the only nation that has been hit with an energy crisis because of crypto mining. According to CoinGape’s recent reportage, during the last week of 2021, Iran imposed a second crypto mining ban to secure itself from ongoing winter energy crisis. Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, director of the public firm, Iran Grid Management Co. and a spokesman for Iran’s power industry noted that the ban will last until March 9, 2022. Additionally, as of yesterday, the Republic of Kosovo also banned crypto mining as part of several relief measures to reverse the energy catastrophe.