Malta, the ‘iGaming hub’ of Europe and self-styled  ‘Blockchain Island’, has declared war on foreigners, just days into the COVID-19 crisis.

On Tuesday, Silvio Schembri, former Parliamentary Secretary for the Digital Economy , and current Economy Minister, stood in front of the Maltese parliament and said:

“Charity begins at home. Our primary focus are Maltese and Gozitan workers. The moment foreign workers lose their job they will have to go back to their country.”

According to the Times of Malta, Schembri, who just a few months ago was courting foreigners, proclaiming Malta to be a land that welcomed overseas investment and workers, said that talks were already underway with the home affairs minister so that “foreigners with a work permit would return to their country the moment they lose their job.”

Politicians, business leaders and expats across Malta have reacted with disgust at Schembri’s comments, with MEP Roberta Metsola saying he was trying to create straw man enemies to distract people from the real problems, and the Maltese Italian Chamber of Commerce saying it was “shocked” by the developments.

On social media many have branded Schembri’s stance as racist, bigoted and illegal, with some even comparing it to Nazi Germany in the late 1930’s.

AYO.NEWS says:

As a ‘foreigner’ who has personally seen the contribution other ‘foreigners’ make to the Maltese economy on a daily basis, from the tourism and service sectors, to the iGaming and blockchain industries, one can only hope that Schembri’s shameful attitude is not reciprocated by foreign governments towards Maltese nationals (of whom this author personally knows several currently working in other countries).

This unprecedented international crisis is not a time for turning on each other, it is a time for Christian values and standing together. One thing is for sure, considering how international and cosmopolitan the iGaming and blockchain industries, and indeed Malta in general is, if the country wants to salvage anything after the COVID-19 crisis, Schembri’s crude populist approach should be condemned and shunned.

Quite obviously, people living in any country should be expected to contribute, but any sane, reasonable person can see that threatening to deport foreigners “the moment they lose their jobs” is absurd, inhuman and disgraceful, and quite frankly, ‘Trumpesque.’ 

It is worth remembering that few countries in the world are more dependent on ‘foreigners’ than Malta. Inherently, this means that many Maltese and Gozitan jobs are entirely dependent on foreigners, either directly or indirectly. From its incredibly rich and multi-cultural pan European/African heritage, to its contemporary tourism, iGaming, blockchain, fintech and banking sectors, Malta owes a lot to ‘foreigners.’

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Opera has announced it is expanding crypto purchases to US users of its mobile and desktop browsers.

The Norwegian company has partnered with US-licensed money transmitter Wyre, to enable its US-based customers to buy Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) directly from the Opera browser’s crypto wallet – using either debit cards (Android users), or Apple Pay.

Residents of Sweden, Denmark and Norway have been able to purchase crypto via the Opera mobile browser for more than a year now, and following the roll out to the United States, the company says it plans to launch the service in other countries soon.

Highlighting how its solution helps remove obstacles to crypto adoption, Head of Crypto at Opera, Charles Hamel, said:

“In the past, obtaining cryptocurrencies was a cumbersome process that took hours or even days. When you compare it with this seamless solution, which takes less than 30 seconds, it really is a gamechanger.”

According to Statcounter, Opera now claims a small but significant 2.12% market share in Europe, though just 0.48% in the US.

The company claims in total it now provides browser and AI content delivery solutions to around 320 million people globally, and hopes it focus on Web 3.0 features like a crypto wallet and DApp explorer, along with enhanced security and privacy tools, including a built-in VPN and ad-blocker, will help it claw market share from Chrome, Safari and Firefox.

AYO.NEWS says:

You have to admire Opera for being plucky if nothing else! Despite being around for nearly 25 years, and still only having a fractional market share, its users are extremely loyal and its focus on innovation have kept it in the game against the big boys. Will Web 3.0 be the opportunity it has always been waiting for?

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Financial Services Corporation have unveiled their Toyota Blockchain Lab.

Formed in April 2019 and encompassing six Toyota Group companies, the lab is tasked with investigating the future of blockchain in the automotive industry. After eleven months of working behind the scenes, the lab is now accelerating initiatives and looking for third-party strategic partners.

Toyota is attempting to become what it calls a “Mobility Company”, rather than a car company, and intends to harness blockchain to develop an expansive transportation-related platform that allows users to connect more openly and securely with companies providing services.

Specific areas of research include customer and vehicle verification, supply chain monitoring, and digitisation of assets and financing methods.

Toyota’s involvement with blockchain goes right back to 2016, when it became part of the R3 consortium of international banks and corporations.

AYO.NEWS says:

Many major car manufacturers are now investing considerable resources into blockchain research, realising it has a multitude of compelling use cases across the industry.

In November 2019, we reported that five major car companies – BMW, Ford, General Motors, Honda, and Renault – began road tests of a new blockchain-based vehicle identification system in the United States. And, in October 2019, the blockchain division of South Korean auto giant Hyundai announced plans for a $10 million blockchain investment fund.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is reported to be developing a regulatory sandbox for cryptocurrencies.

Despite the country announcing a complete ban on cryptocurrencies in 2018, the deepening economic crisis in the country has convinced authorities to take another look at cryptos.

According to a 16^th March report in Zimbabwean newspaper the Chronicle, the RBZ’s deputy director for financial markets and national payment systems, Josephat Mutepfa, revealed plans for a crypto sandbox while speaking at the Sound Prosperity Economic Forum in Bulawayo on 13^th March.

He is quoted as saying:

“We have already started to come up with a fintech framework because in regulation everything should be well structured. The framework, which is a regulatory sandbox, will be assessing the crypto-currency companies as to how they are going to operate.

“Once you enter the sandbox you either exist as a bonafide product to enter the market or you are guided to say that you need to partner a bank, a mobile money platform or your product needs to be licensed like a microfinance company.”

The RBZ has likely been forced to re-examine its stance on cryptocurrencies and digital assets because of their widespread adoption by Zimbabweans, particularly the young, who are attempting to protect their wealth from the insane inflation and dysfunctions of the all-but collapsed economy.

Since June 2019, the Zimbabwe has been trying to establish a new national currency, but by many accounts, actually getting hold of Zimbabwean dollars is not easy, and most people are still using a mix of foreign fiat currencies, particularly the South African rand and US dollar. .

AYO.NEWS says:

Despite getting rid of Mugabe, Zimbabwe under President Emmerson Mnangagwa is still mired in economic crisis, political corruption and environmental disaster (and that’s before we even throw in the global COVID-19 pandemic!). Though any move to genuinely embracing cryptocurrencies with a functional, fair and transparent regulatory framework should be welcomed, we can’t trust anything coming from Zimbabwean authorities.

Staying with Zimbabwe, in February we reported the country sent a delegation to Malta, to study how gambling is regulated in the Mediterranean jurisdiction. In May 2019, we also revealed that the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange was investigating blockchain technology to eliminate corruption.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Binance.US will list the Tezos token (XTZ) from 9AM EST today, launching two trading pairs.

Though deposits of the XTZ token are already permitted, after 9AM users will be able to trade XTZ/USD and XTZ/BUSD, and make XTZ withdrawals.

XTZ is the cryptocurrency of the Tezos blockchain, which was the brainchild of Arthur and Kathleen Breitman and launched an ICO in July 2017 – in fact, for a short time it held the record as being the most successful ICO, raising $232M.

Unlike Bitcoin, Tezos doesn’t rely on proof-of-work mining, but rather an alternative consensus mechanism called proof-of-stake. To help protect the network, users are rewarded for holding their assets.

At one point, in February this year, XTZ hit a high of $3.90 though at the time of writing it was sitting around $1.47.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Online payment service Skrill has dropped all fees for Italian transactions, while Pornhub is offering Italians free premium access and has pledged to donate money to relief efforts.

Skrill drops all fees for Italian transactions

In response to the growing COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis, Skrill is immediately dropping all fees and foreign exchange charges for anyone using Skrill Money Transfer to send money to Italy. Charges for recipients in Italy have also been dropped.

The move was announce by Skrill CEO and Italian national, Lorenzo Pellegrino, in a bid to support the country during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Explaining the decision, he said:

“I am utterly heartbroken to see this situation unfold in my home country. By removing all fees and foreign exchange mark ups, people who are sending money to loved ones in Italy from outside of the country will see more of their funds going to the right place.”

Pornhub keeps quarantined Italians company

Meanwhile, Canada-based adult entertainment website Pornhub, is offering free premium subscriptions to Italians through March, and will also be donating its Modelhub March revenue to organisations responding to the crisis.

A statement on the Italian-facing version of the site reads:

“Pornhub has decided to donate its Modelhub March revenue to help Italy overcome the emergency. To keep you company at home during these weeks, you’ll be able to access Pornhub Premium for free for the whole month, with no need for a credit card.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Its great to see companies try to help make life a little easier for Italians during what could well be their darkest hour, but we’ve got a feeling most of Europe will be in Italy’s situation by next week.

Staying with Pornhub, at the end of January, we reported the site had added Tether (USDT) as a new cryptocurrency payment option, making life easier for thousands of models in the wake of PayPal’s withdrawal of services a few months earlier.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.