Last week in review: Mark Zuckerberg confirms NFT integration for Instagram

As the conflict in Ukraine continues, last week saw a number of positive adoption stories with use cases across various industries from digital assets to farming.

Mark Zuckerberg confirmed NFTs were coming to Instagram, this year’s World Blockchain Festival will be hosted by El Salvador and Argentina was revealed to be among the top countries for paying employees in cryptocurrencies.

There’s never a dull moment in crypto. Here are our top headlines from last week.

What 

CEO of Meta Mark Zuckerberg confirms at an SXSW conference that they will be bringing NFTs to Instagram

Why 

The increasing adoption of NFTs over the past year has led many companies to integrate them into their ecosystem. Meta aims to integrate NFTs into its platform to help users connect with and explore the metaverse

What next 

Zuckerberg did not give an exact timeline but said that NFT integration will hopefully be available in the next few months and that they aim to provide minting capabilities over time

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World Blockchain Festival 2022 to be hosted by El Salvador

What 

The World Blockchain Festival is a three-day event held on 21-23 April 2022, hosting Blockchain industry developers, entrepreneurs, investors and world-class speakers

Why 

The event is being hosted in the capital of El Salvador, and aims to bring awareness to decentralised economic systems and how they can be utilised in Central America, and globally

What next 

The festival will host influential cryptocurrency players and is an opportunity for them to share their vision and collaborate on new ideas. The interactive event allows participants to experience the world of cryptocurrency and helps them understand the potential that the Blockchain industry holds

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Argentina among top countries to pay employees in crypto

What

Argentina has a higher proportion of employees getting paid in cryptocurrency than anywhere else, according to Deel, a payroll company that operates in 150 countries

Why

Workers are increasingly getting paid in cryptocurrency to circumvent exchange controls and to protect them from currency swings and 50% inflation 

What next

As part of an agreement with the IMF, the Argentinian government is attempting to discourage this use of cryptocurrencies to try and prevent money laundering

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MetaRising aims to support real-world agricultural technology using Metaverse platform

What 

MetaRising is a Metaverse platform that makes use of a virtual economy and a Play-to-Earn (P2E) farm-themed game to support the real-world agricultural industry

Why 

Due to the monopolisation of the seed industry, climate change and limited land resources, there is a need for research and funding in agricultural technology. MetaRising users can earn virtual currency in-game and then use this to contribute to various real-world agricultural initiatives, and purchase NFTs

What next 

The Metaverse platform aims to use blockchain technology to support research initiatives in agricultural technology and promote environmentally sustainable farming practices. Depending on the user’s financial input, users will earn a portion of the income generated from these initiatives

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Bank of Canada partners with MIT on CBDC research

What

The Bank of Canada has partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to work on a 12-month research project focused on the design of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)

Why 

The project is part of the bank’s broader development agenda on digital currencies, fintech and how CBDCs could work in a Canadian context

What next

The decision of whether to introduce a CBDC in Canada will be taken once the research project is complete

Read the full story here

To catch up on other big stories from last week, be sure to check these headlines

Everything you need to know about the EU’s vote against banning proof of work

Top crypto countries and their approach to cryptocurrency regulation