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<ul><li><keyword id="6289215" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="crypto-mining" source="Orion">Crypto mining</keyword> companies are looking at <keyword id="12637892" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="immersion-cooling" source="Orion">immersion cooling</keyword> to help them drum not costs and also be more environment friendly.</li><li>Immersion cooling recycles a portion of the heat created by crypto mining rigs into power.</li><li>However, the technology is still in testing mode and there are pit falls to both success and failure.</li></ul>Mining for Bitcoin is hot — not just because it's in vogue, but because it’s literally hot enough that there are people around the world using their mining rigs as an alternative to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yDX8Zf_lLg">home heaters</a>. The more power they use, the hotter these rigs get. And, the hotter they get, the more power is needed to keep them cool. Thus, the cycle continues. Crypto mining companies, like <a href="https://www.riotblockchain.com/news-media/press-releases/detail/117/riot-announces-first-industrial-scale-immersion-cooled#:~:text=Immersion%2Dcooling%20is%20a%20technique,circuits%20operating%20at%20lower%20temperatures.&amp;text=The%20cooled%20fluid%20is%20then%20pumped%20back%20through%20the%20immersion%20tank.">Riot Blockchain</a>, and others are looking to break the loop with ‘immersion cooling’. They want to take specialised Bitcoin mining equipment — called application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) — and submerge them in cooling fluid to bring down costs while also giving their mining operations a boost. <div type="image" title="5" msid="87999555" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Riot Blockchain&amp;#39;s immesion cooling tests&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> It’s not only about cutting down the heat. immersion cooling also cuts down maintenance times since there’s less dirt clogging the machines, resulting in more efficient performance. <div type="ExtQuote" text="It looks like a fish tank with machines inside it. Sooner or later, all big miners will be doing large-scale immersion mining." auname="Nishant Sharma, the founder of mining consultancy firm BlocksBridge, told Bloomberg in a interview"></div> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Immersive cooling has been around for over a decade" comment="subhead" text="Immersive cooling has been around for over a decade">Immersive cooling has been around for over a decade</cmsannotation> Immersion cooling is not a ‘new’ idea. It’s been around since 2006 when Hardcore Computer pioneered the concept to make PC gaming more powerful. Three years down the line Green Revolution Cooling (GRC) came up with the idea of ‘open bath’ immersion for the high-performance computing industry. And, a year later Midas Green Technologies founded the first-ever worldwide immersion cooling commercial data center. <div type="image" title="4" msid="87999624" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Fujitsu&amp;#39;s liquid immersion cooling system it says will usher in a &amp;#8220;next generation of ultra-dense data centers.&amp;#8221;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Fujitsu, Microsoft, Alibaba, Shell and all the big wig companies have been looking into it. Even with all this fanfare, immersion cooling didn’t get its fair due until crypto mining started to become mainstream in 2016. The profitability of conventional data centres is determined by a myriad of different factors. But, for cryptocurrency mining, the primary influence of profit is energy consumption — and, that’s where immersion cooling comes in, in a big way. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Immersive cooling uses heat to create more power" comment="subhead" text="Immersive cooling uses heat to create more power">Immersive cooling uses heat to create more power</cmsannotation> With immersion cooling, the total cost of ownership (TCO) gets drummed down since heat can be recycled for energy. The fluid absorbs the heat and recycles it to increase productivity. According to Brian Roemmele, co-host of the Around the Coin podcast — who saw an immersed Bitcoin mining rig first hand — the cooling liquid reduces heat and noise by 95%. Around 40% of the heat is recaptured and used to power the mining rig. <div type="twitter" handle="BrianRoemmele" handlename="Brian Roemmele" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1492616506/Brian-Med-Green-Fin_normal.png" favoritecount="14370" retweetcount="2600" status="By submerging Bitcoin Miners in liquid, heat and noise is reduced by 95% and we can recapture up to 40% of the heat… https://t.co/c9uLhwcFft" createdat="1635438648000" id="1453761177201242116"></div> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="This doesn’t mean crypto mining rigs are using water to cool off" comment="subhead" text="This doesn’t mean crypto mining rigs are using water to cool off">This doesn’t mean crypto mining rigs are using water to cool off</cmsannotation> Not only is immersion cooling a big deal for the companies that mine for crypto, but it’s also a get for companies that specialise in cooling technology. At the end of the day, water and electricity don’t mix. Water is both a conductor of electricity and corrosive. Any breach would mean that mining rigs would get fried. And, that’s why the trick lies in cooling the right kind of liquid to get the job done. Instead of using ordinary water, companies prefer to use engineered fluids like 3M's Novec or a blend of different mineral oils such as GRC's GreenDEF. This allows for direct immersion of entire systems without the risk of damaging the machines. But, this also means that crypto mining companies looking to employ immersion cooling at scale are dependent on a limited set of suppliers that have the technology. This leaves them susceptible to supply disruption and price fluctuations. For instance, a crypto mining company <keyword id="5304583" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="riot-blockchain" source="Orion">Riot Blockchain</keyword>, announced in October that it has plans to immerse 46,000 of its mining machines — which need around 200 megawatts of power to function — into cooling liquid. Other companies that have attempted similar endeavours in the past have seen their projects run into substantial setbacks and cost overruns. According to TipRanks <a href="https://www.tipranks.com/stocks/riot/risk-factors">Risk Factors</a> tool, if Riot is not able to complete the project on schedule and ends up devoting more resources to it, the anticipated benefits may get annuled. On the flip side, if Riot Blockchain is successful, it could lead to other crypto mining companies jumping onto the bandwagon. This, in turn, would create a surge in demand, increasing costs and decreasing the cost effectiveness of the technology. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/coindcx-clarifies-that-it-has-no-immediate-plans-to-launch-an-ipo/articleshow/87979346.cms">CoinDCX clarifies that it has no ‘immediate’ plans to launch an IPO</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/loaded-lion-nft-sells-for-1-million-three-days-after-launching-at-200/articleshow/87933221.cms">Loaded Lion NFT sells for $1 million — three days after launching at $200</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/india-has-no-plans-to-recognise-bitcoin-as-a-currency-says-countrys-finance-minister-nirmala-sitharaman/articleshow/87976812.cms">India has no plans to recognise Bitcoin as a currency, says country's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman</a>

Immersion cooling has been around for over a decade, but it’s coming back in vogue thanks to Bitcoin mining

<ul><li><keyword id="11973832" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="terra" source="Orion">Terra</keyword> is now the second-biggest decentralised finance (<keyword id="4164994" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="defi" source="Orion">DeFi</keyword>) player in the <keyword id="6380571" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="crypto-market" source="Orion">crypto market</keyword>, after Ethereum.</li><li>However, its total value locked (TVL) ratio shows that the cryptocurrency may be overvalued as its current price of $82.04.</li><li>Terra’s <keyword id="216973" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="luna" source="Orion">LUNA</keyword> token hit an all-time-high of $83.81, earlier today.</li></ul>Terra, whose LUNA token has been bucking the doldrums of the crypto market to barge its way into the top 10 most valuable cryptocurrency by value, is now the second-biggest smart contract platform after Ethereum. Moreover, Terra’s LUNA token’s price hit <a href="http://coindcx.com">all-time-high</a> of $83.81 earlier today as it continues to surge. Compared to last year, LUNA’s price is 12,000% percent higher. This means if you had invested ₹10,000 in the token on January 1, it would be worth ₹12,00,000 today. Top five smart contract platforms by total value locked (TVL): <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Platform </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Seven-day change </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Total value locked </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ethereum (ETH) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5.88% </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$153.18 billion </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Terra (LUNA) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">55% </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$18.06 billion </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">BSC (BNB) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3.87% </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$16.61 billion </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Avalanche </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">16.37% </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$12.33 billion </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Solana </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">6.85% </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$11.7 billion </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table>Source: DeFi Llama <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Is Terra headed for a dip?" comment="subhead" text="Is Terra headed for a dip?">Is Terra headed for a dip?</cmsannotation> According to data cited by <a href="https://defillama.com/chains">DeFi Llama</a>, the total value locked (TVL) in Terra has surged by 55% in the last seven days, overtaking Binance Smart Chain (BNB). TVL is an indicator of how many assets are currently being staked on a specific platform. Simply put, it’s the overall underlying supply. However, at a price of $82.04 and market capitalisation of $30.48 billion, according to <a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/terra-luna/">CoinMarketCap</a>, the TVL ratio of Terra comes up to 1.68. This indicates that the recent bull run has left the cryptocurrency overvalued. According to <a href="http://fxstreet.com/cryptocurrencies/news/cryptocurrencies-price-prediction-cardano-terra-bitcoin-american-wrap-20-december-202112202038">FXStreet</a>, investors will now be looking to book profits, which is likely to push LUNA to lower, but more stable, levels. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Total Value Locked (TVL) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Market capitalisation </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">TVL Ratio (TVL/M Cap) </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$18.06 billion </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$30.48 billion </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1.68 </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table>Source: Data as of 3:00pm Indian Standard Time (IST) | TVL figure from DeFi Llama, Market capitalisation from CoinMarketCap | Calculation done by Business Insider India As of 3:00pm Indian Standard Time (IST), Terra’s price has jumped by nearly 9% in the last 24 hours with a 44% increase over the last seven days. During the last week, it broke into the top 10 most valued cryptocurrencies in the global market alongside Avalanche’s re-entry. And, a lot of the credit goes to the hype behind DeFi. Terra UST (UST) is one of the stablecoins — others include the Euro (EUT), the Canadian Dollar (CAT), and the Japanese Yen (JPY) — that’s based on the Terra blockchain. It is now the most valuable decentralised stablecoin in the world after overtaking DAI. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/the-sandbox-decentraland-and-cryptovoxels-see-sales-surge-as-companies-look-to-get-in-on-the-ground-floor/articleshow/88137990.cms">Battle of metaverses: The Sandbox, Decentraland and CryptoVoxels see sales surge as companies look to get in on the ground floor</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/alibaba-tencent-and-other-chinese-players-are-betting-big-on-the-metaverse-but-the-government-is-yet-to-buy-into-the-hype/articleshow/88062372.cms">Alibaba, Tencent, and other Chinese players are betting big on the metaverse — but the government is yet to buy into the hype</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/bitcoin-mining-is-bring-immersion-cooling-back-in-vogue/articleshow/87998756.cms">Immersion cooling has been around for over a decade, but it’s coming back in vogue thanks to Bitcoin mining</a>

Terra is the second-biggest DeFi player in the crypto market, but it may be overvalued

<ul><li>Ikigai Law’s Anirudh Rastogi represented Indian crypto exchanges in the <keyword id="6354977" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="supreme-court" source="Orion">Supreme Court</keyword> case, which led to the Reserve Bank of India’s <keyword id="6441508" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="crypto-ban" source="Orion">crypto ban</keyword> getting quashed.</li><li>According to him, the ideal case would be for the government to create a self-regulatory organization (SRO) to oversee the crypto industry in India.</li><li>However, the matter could go to court if the government’s upcoming crypto bill is too restrictive.</li></ul>India’s upcoming crypto bill has been wrapped in speculation since last week, when the government announced it would be introducing the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/heres-a-quick-look-at-how-the-evolution-of-cryptocurrencies-has-played-out-in-india/slidelist/87902549.cms">long-awaited</a> piece of legislation during the ongoing session of <keyword id="6354721" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="parliament" source="Orion">Parliament</keyword>. The industry as a whole is hoping that the government will find the right balance so as to not restrict innovation and provide legitimacy to the sector. The lawyer behind getting India’s 2018 crypto ban quashed, Anirudh Rastogi, believes an overly restrictive stance could lead to another battle in the Supreme Court. Rastogi represented Indian crypto exchanges for Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), whose members include WazirX, CoinDCX and others, in the appeal at the Supreme Court against the 2018 ban on cryptocurrencies issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Short of blanket ban, these are some of the wishes that he has from the crypto ban: <ol><li>A self-regulatory organisation to oversee the crypto industry</li><li>Sunset clauses for stringent laws</li><li>A sandbox setup for crypto businesses to develop their use cases</li><li>Allowance of gas fees payments using cryptocurrencies</li></ol>“A blanket ban on payments would be a good reason to go to court. If I can’t make gas payments, that’s the end of a lot of businesses — how do you operate an exchange, for instance, which is built on an Ethereum or Bitcoin network without paying gas fees. This could be challenged as a violation of a person’s ‘right to trade’,” he told Business Insider. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What’s the big deal about gas fees?" comment="subhead" text="What’s the big deal about gas fees?">What’s the big deal about gas fees?</cmsannotation> Gas fees, simply put, are transaction fees. These payments are made by users to compensate the network for the computing energy required to process and validate transactions. And, they’re done during cryptocurrencies. If there’s a blanket ban on cryptocurrencies and their use as payments, developers based out of India will face issues developing solutions based on blockchain technology. “If the government bans use of cryptocurrency for payments, the right exceptions within that are important… Licensing for cryptocurrency based cross-border remittances would be desirable since it can make remittances significantly cheaper and faster. So allowing limited payments activity would actually be good,” Rastogi explained. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Rastogi’s wish list for India’s crypto bill" comment="subhead" text="Rastogi’s wish list for India’s crypto bill">Rastogi’s wish list for India’s crypto bill</cmsannotation> “I wish our government had taken a slightly more methodical approach towards crafting this regulation,” Rastogi said in conversation with WazirX’s head of public policy, government affairs and content, Aritra Sarkhel, during Business Insider’s webinar. According to him, it’s not a surprise that the Indian government is not looking to recognise Bitcoin as a currency. “That has been a consistent stance taken by the government, right from Arun Jaitley’s 2018 Budget speed,” he said. At the same time, fears persist. An overly restrictive regime could also pose a problem. “Over regulating a new, emerging technology could be deeply problematic because it’s a rapidly evolving space. And, for the government to keep pace with that and in terms of legislation is obviously going to be difficult,” said Rastogi. Instead, he proposes that the government should lay out broad principles but not micro-manage. Other industries, like over-the-top (OTT) services and e-commerce, self-regulated themselves for a good couple of years — and the same allowance should be given to the crypto sector in India. <div type="ExtQuote" text="My ideal case would be for the government to create an SRO [self regulatory organisation], which could then lay down further guidelines on two or three specific issues — one would be investor protection and advertising." auname="Anirudh Rastogi, the founder and managing partner at Ikigai Law, told Business Insider"></div> If the government does introduce more stringent regulation it should come with a ‘sunset clause’. Simply put, the strictest parts of the law should be accompanied by an expiry date, at which point they should be reevaluated. Alternatively, the government could even set up a sandbox environment for cryptocurrency experiments. “The RBI sandbox in place today specifically bans cryptocurrency businesses, which is bizarre. Sandboxes are meant to be created exactly for these types of businesses, which are cutting-edge, less understood and have regulatory concerns — that’s why you create a sandbox,” explained Rastogi. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Questions remain unanswered" comment="subhead" text="Questions remain unanswered">Questions remain unanswered</cmsannotation> According to <keyword id="129243" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nirmala-sitharaman" source="Orion">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword>, India’s Finance Minister, Bitcoin will not be given the status of a currency. But she did not elucidate on whether or not payments in cryptocurrencies for blockchain operations would still be permitted. The question around whether or not cryptocurrency trade would still be permitted in the country also hangs in the balance until an official draft of the bill is brought in for public review. The silver lining is that Sitharaman clarified that the upcoming bill is most definitely different from its previous iterations. However, it is still pending approval from the Cabinet before it can be introduced into the lower house of Parliament — the Lok Sabha — for discussion. <div type="ExtQuote" text="As my colleague Priyam likes to say, if this bill was a digital asset it would be more volatile than Bitcoin or Ethereum or anything else trading out there." auname="Anirudh Rastogi, the founder and managing partner at Ikigai Law, told Business Insider"></div> Here’s the full conversation with Anirudh Rastogi and WazirX’s head of governance affairs, public policy and content, Aritra Sarkhel: <div type="twitter" handle="BiIndia" handlename="Business Insider India🇮🇳" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1232926719016718336/sfffJHNV_normal.jpg" favoritecount="2" retweetcount="1" status="#LIVE | Two days of #WinterSession in Parliament, two sets of comments from Finance Minister #NirmalaSitharaman —… https://t.co/CQLDkL4pIC" createdat="1638275419000" id="1465659453877805056"></div> Disclosure: This conversation is part of a series on Business Insider, sponsored by WazirX. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/coindcx-clarifies-that-it-has-no-immediate-plans-to-launch-an-ipo/articleshow/87979346.cms">CoinDCX clarifies that it has no ‘immediate’ plans to launch an IPO</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/india-crypto-bill-gets-a-revamp-but-its-still-a-work-in-progress-says-finance-minister-nirmala-sitharaman/articleshow/88001952.cms">Indian government confirms that its new crypto bill is not the same as the old one</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/bitcoin-mining-is-bring-immersion-cooling-back-in-vogue/articleshow/87998756.cms">Immersion cooling has been around for over a decade, but it’s coming back in vogue thanks to Bitcoin mining</a>

The lawyer behind getting India’s 2018 crypto ban quashed hasn’t ruled out going to court again

<ul><li>The CEO of <keyword id="6360701" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="spacex" source="Orion">SpaceX</keyword>, <keyword id="107096" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tesla" source="Orion">Tesla</keyword> and the Boring Company took a dig at <keyword id="12465420" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="web3" source="Orion">Web3</keyword> earlier today asking, “Has anyone seen Web3?” on <keyword id="6354616" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="twitter" source="Orion">Twitter</keyword>.</li><li><keyword id="265395" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jack-dorsey" source="Orion">Jack Dorsey</keyword>, founder of Twitter and <keyword id="688028" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="square" source="Orion">Square</keyword>, jibed back with, “It’s somewhere between a and z.”</li><li>The tech billionaires were poking fun at the hype around Web3, the so-called ‘next generation of the internet’.</li></ul>There were non-fungible tokens (NFTs), then the ‘<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/the-metaverse-may-change-the-way-you-earn-money-shop-or-even-chill-with-friends-in-the-future/slidelist/86677906.cms">metaverse</a>’ and the next wave that’s building seems to be around Web3 — the next generation of the internet. However, not everyone is buying into the hype, including tech billionaires <keyword id="6355315" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="elon-musk" source="Orion">Elon Musk</keyword> and Jack Dorsey. Musk, the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and the Boring Company, took a dig at Web3 with a message on Twitter. While the hype around <a href="http://coindcx.com">Web3</a> has been building this year, real use cases — at least ones that have some kind of mainstream adoption — are few and far between. <div type="twitter" handle="elonmusk" handlename="Elon Musk" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1442634650703237120/mXIcYtIs_normal.jpg" favoritecount="110702" retweetcount="8430" status="Has anyone seen web3? I can’t find it." createdat="1640064984000" id="1473165434518224896"></div> Dorsey, who <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/parag-agrawals-top-priority-at-twitter-as-new-ceo/articleshow/88157925.cms">recently quit</a> as the head of Twitter, chimed in with a reply <a href="https://twitter.com/jack/status/1473165759224463360">stating</a>, “It’s somewhere between a and z.” <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Web3, where art thou?" comment="subhead" text="Web3, where art thou?">Web3, where art thou?</cmsannotation> The general understanding is that Web3 will be based on the blockchain, which is what most people remember. However, the second part of Web3’s identity is its aspiration to be decentralised, which is short-hand for taking the power of data away from tech giants like Meta, formerly known as <keyword id="6354576" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="facebook" source="Orion">Facebook</keyword>. However, Dorsey believes that the entire concept is ironic. Blockchain startups working on Web3 applications are, at the end of the day, being funded by venture capitalists (VCs) and limited partnerships (LPs). This still leaves the people with money in power. “It’s ultimately a centralised entity with a different label,” Dorsey said on Twitter. <div type="twitter" handle="jack" handlename="jack⚡️" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1115644092329758721/AFjOr-K8_normal.jpg" favoritecount="28554" retweetcount="4604" status="You don’t own “web3.”The VCs and their LPs do. It will never escape their incentives. It’s ultimately a centraliz… https://t.co/Rre1m6uAzc" createdat="1640058684000" id="1473139010197508098"></div> Dorsey is the same guy who also poked fun of Facebook when it changed its name to Meta. He called the new name, ‘<a href="https://twitter.com/jack/status/1453789734791090189">self-referential</a>’. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Why aren’t more people excited about Web3?" comment="subhead" text="Why aren’t more people excited about Web3?">Why aren’t more people excited about Web3?</cmsannotation> To be fair, it’s not that they aren't excited about Web3, they just think the utopian version of the internet is still a <a href="https://timdaub.github.io/2020/09/08/web3/">considerable</a> jump away. One of the issues that have repeatedly been pointed out is scaling. Smart contract platforms, including those touted as ‘Ethereum Killers’, have at one point or another faced issues when transaction volumes suddenly spike. And, as much as we want to believe in a version of the decentralised internet, there’s always a loophole like we saw when <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/aws-outage-shows-that-dexs-arent-are-decentralised-as-expected/articleshow/88186644.cms">Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) servers were hit</a> earlier this month. The company’s servers are the basis for one-third of the internet. So, a crypto exchange like dYdX may be decentralised but if most of its computing power comes from Amazon’s servers — a centralised service — can it be truly autonomous? SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/the-sandbox-decentraland-and-cryptovoxels-see-sales-surge-as-companies-look-to-get-in-on-the-ground-floor/articleshow/88137990.cms">Battle of metaverses: The Sandbox, Decentraland and CryptoVoxels see sales surge as companies look to get in on the ground floor</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/alibaba-tencent-and-other-chinese-players-are-betting-big-on-the-metaverse-but-the-government-is-yet-to-buy-into-the-hype/articleshow/88062372.cms">Alibaba, Tencent, and other Chinese players are betting big on the metaverse — but the government is yet to buy into the hype</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/bitcoin-mining-is-bring-immersion-cooling-back-in-vogue/articleshow/87998756.cms">Immersion cooling has been around for over a decade, but it’s coming back in vogue thanks to Bitcoin mining</a>

Tech billionaires Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk take a dig at Web3 — ‘It’s somewhere between a and z’

<ul><li>An executive from China’s central bank has cautioned against NFTs and the <keyword id="11121339" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="metaverse" source="Orion">metaverse</keyword> for the role they play in funding illegal activities.</li><li>The industry in China has been bullish on the metaverse, with many registering trademarks and announcing plans of building out digital assets for the virtual world.</li><li><keyword id="302749" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="alibaba" source="Orion">Alibaba</keyword> and <keyword id="212412" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tencent" source="Orion">Tencent</keyword>, two of the biggest tech giants in the country, rebranded their NFT offerings as ‘digital collectibles,’ seemingly to avoid the ire of Beijing.</li></ul>China went out of its way to prohibit crypto activity within its borders this year. From crypto miners and crypto exchanges to publications talking about crypto — everyone was told to close up shop or face the wrath of the authorities. And, now, the Asian Dragon has its eye on the <a href="http://coindcx.com">metaverse</a> and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This even as industry leaders in the country — including the Ant Group and Tencent Holdings — remain bullish on the opportunities that the metaverse presents. At a financial forum held in Shanghai last week, the director of the anti-money laundering unit of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) — <a href="https://www.caixinglobal.com/2021-11-30/central-bank-targets-money-laundering-using-virtual-assets-101811478.html">Gou Wenjun</a> — warned that such virtual assets could be used to launder money and have, in the past, been used for illegal transactions like drug trafficking, gmabling, terrorism finance and tax evasion. <div type="ExtQuote" text="These are naturally isolated from the real world and have a certain degree of interoperability, making it extremely easy to become money-laundering tools for outlaws." auname="Statement made by Gou Wenjun, the director of the anti-money laundering unit at the People’s Bank of China, at a financial security summit in Shanghai"></div> The metaverse in China is not entirely without regulation. According to Gou, more than 50 jurisdictions across the country are in the process of or already have established a regulatory framework to address NFTs and the metaverse — this includes setting a licensing system, so that there’s a record of the owner and operators of these enterprises for the Chinese government to reference. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Ant Group and Alibaba are pumping money into the metaverse" comment="subhead" text="Ant Group and Alibaba are pumping money into the metaverse">Ant Group and Alibaba are pumping money into the metaverse</cmsannotation> China has not been isolated from the global trend of the metaverse coming in vogue. The industry is bullish with some excited about the opportunities it could provide, with others anxious about not being able to keep up. The likes of Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu and NetEase have all rushed to apply for dozens of trademarks related to the metaverse, according to the <a href="https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3154871/metaverse-gathers-pace-china-baidu-netease-join-rush-register?module=inline&amp;pgtype=article">South China Morning Post</a> citing data from the business registration tracking platform, Qichacha. “When the metaverse eventually arrives… We’ll probably be the fastest runners around,” said gaming giant NetEase’s founder and CEO, <a href="https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3156381/ceo-says-netease-will-lead-metaverse-race-chinese-tech-giants?module=perpetual_scroll&amp;pgtype=article&amp;campaign=3156381">William Ding Lei</a>, during the company’s third-quarter earnings call in November. Meanwhile Tencent disclosed that its outlook for the metvase includes approaching the new technology through a ‘range of businesses’, with a focus on its implications on video games and social networks. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="But, they’re also being cautious" comment="subhead" text="But, they’re also being cautious">But, they’re also being cautious </cmsannotation>According to Tencent’s president, <a href="https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3155664/tencent-says-it-has-technology-build-metaverse-and-beijing-does-not">Martin Lau</a>, the officials in China aren’t ‘fundamentally adverse’ to the concept of the metaverse. However, there are likely going to be a set of guidelines to regulate the sector different from the rest of the world. Tencent Holdings rolled its NFT trading platform called Huanhe, in August. The Jack Ma-founded Ant Group, known for its affiliation to the Alibaba Group, launched an NFT wallpaper for Alipay users in June and followed that up with introducing NFT artworks as well, including digital painting and virtual version of antiques. “There will be more brands trying out the metaverse and NFTs in their marketing campaigns, either by working with digital platform players like Alibaba or Tencent or by themselves (with the help of digital agencies) like the SK-II CITY campaign,” Xioafeng Wang, the principal analyst at consultancy firm Forrester, told the marketing publication <a href="https://www.campaignasia.com/article/how-chinas-marketing-community-sees-the-metaverse/474233">Campaign Asia</a>. Despite their interest in the space, both — Alibaba and Tencent — took a step of caution in October and rebranded their NFT offerings as ‘digital collectibles’. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Meanwhile, gaming studios in China are cashing in on the metaverse trend" comment="subhead" text="Meanwhile, gaming studios in China are cashing in on the metaverse trend">Meanwhile, gaming studios in China are cashing in on the metaverse trend</cmsannotation> Until China doesn’t drop the hammer on NFTs and the metaverse, gaming companies are taking in any <a href="https://kr-asia.com/chinese-game-developers-jump-on-metaverse-bandwagon-sending-stock-prices-soaring">quick gains</a> that they can. <a href="https://www.google.com/finance/quote/300052:SHE?sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwighYLRn8X0AhUozTgGHfu4DBAQ3ecFegQIBRAc">Zhongqingbao</a> was one of the first gaming studios in China to announce a new metaverse-based game, Brew Master. As a result, the company’s price jumped by more than 20% in the 24 hours after the announcement, which triggered a trading halt. Two days later, when Zhejiang Jinke Tom Culture Industry — the company behind the immensely popular children's game Talking Tom — announced that it was developing metaverse games, the company’s stock also jumped by 20%, triggering another trading halt. And, the same trend followed when Boton Technology made a similar announcement. One should note that none of these games are public yet, nor are there any conclusively concrete plans in place for what may be in store. All three maintain that they’re merely ‘exploring’ the multiverse concept and there is no final product in place. And, while they saw pumps in their share price on announcing plans for the metaverse, all three have registered drops exceeding 5% after Gou’s comments. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/crypto-romance-love-in-the-times-of-blockchain/slidelist/88050488.cms">Crypto romance — Love in the times of blockchain</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/solana-cardano-polkadot-and-others-heres-a-quick-look-at-why-these-crypto-tokens-are-being-touted-as-ethereum-killers/articleshow/88045517.cms">Solana, Cardano, Polkadot and others — here’s a quick look at why these crypto tokens are being touted as ‘Ethereum Killers’</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/bitcoin-mining-is-bring-immersion-cooling-back-in-vogue/articleshow/87998756.cms">Immersion cooling has been around for over a decade, but it’s coming back in vogue thanks to Bitcoin mining</a>

Alibaba, Tencent, and other Chinese players are betting big on the metaverse  — but the government is yet to buy into the hype

He was America's flashiest watch dealer. Then the feds caught up with him. 

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11901075" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="nfts" source="Orion">NFTs</keyword> are stored on a crypto-style blockchain but can also be displayed physically, <keyword id="12461340" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="gallery" source="Orion">gallery</keyword> style.</li><li>The Dream <keyword id="11895191" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hollywood" source="Orion">Hollywood</keyword> hotel and The Crypt Gallery have opened a physical NFT exhibit to the public.</li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nft-meaning">Non-fungible tokens</a> - or NFTs - are a new concept taking the <keyword id="11931454" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="art" source="Orion">art</keyword> and tech worlds by storm. Many fans and followers are wondering whether these digital assets, which are stored on a crypto-style blockchain, are the future of art or just a passing phase.With <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nft-celebrities-grimes-mark-cuban-lindsay-lohan-gronk-shawn-mendes-2021-3">celebrities</a> such as Lindsay Lohan and <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/nft-sales-soaring-crypto-market-growth-rarible-alex-salnikov-2021-8">Katy Perry</a> - along with <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/spongebob-south-park-star-trek-nft-viacomcbs-recur-partnership-2021-10">companies such as ViacomCBS</a> - joining in on the craze, it's already become big business. In August alone, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/nft-opensea-digital-art-bitcoin-cardano-ethereum-meme-crypto-2021-09">$3 billion worth</a> of NFTs were sold on OpenSea, the world's largest NFT venue, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-02/day-trading-army-goes-all-in-on-nfts-as-meme-stock-mania-ebbs">Bloomberg</a> reported.While the ins and outs of how to buy and sell NFTs might still be foreign to the average consumer, some art enthusiasts believe that this forward-thinking platform could eventually offer greater accessibility within the art world by allowing new artists a chance to break into the industry."Art can feel very closed off and elitist," said Kevin Fegans, a brand marketing and communications executive in Los Angeles and a self-proclaimed fashion and art enthusiast. The NFT market, he said, feels more accessible. "It's all new artists. It's a great way to support emerging talent," he added.Fegans recently visited the <a href="https://www.dreamhotels.com/hollywood">Dream Hollywood</a> hotel's new NFT art exhibition - one of the first exhibits of its kind in a hospitality setting.<div type="image" title="the NFT exhibit in Dream Hollywood Hotel" height="3024" width="4032" msid="87496522" hostid="261"></div>"This was the first NFT gallery I've heard of," Fegans said. "I've been fascinated, and I think everyone is."The idea is gaining momentum. A few months ago, a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-gallery-display-nft-art-crypto-art-2021-3">New York City gallery</a> was the first to display NFTs physically. Now, such exhibits are popping up in major cities such as <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidphelan/2021/09/17/new-london-art-exhibition-shows-nfts-in-holographic-form/?sh=376ac0b6d747">London</a> and <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/inno/stories/inno-insights/2021/08/30/nft-chicago-artists.html">Chicago</a>, and even at <a href="https://news.artnet.com/market/nfts-art-basel-2011438">Art Basel</a>.The Dream Hollywood exhibition, coordinated in partnership with <a href="https://www.thecryptgallerynyc.com/home">The Crypt Gallery</a>, is set to be available to the public for free through 2022 in the hotel's lobby, which would allow people to learn about and see NFTs up close without paying a cent."For NFT connoisseurs, avid art collectors, and even the newest fans of the medium, this exhibition is both provocative and informative," said Vaughn Davis, the general manager at Dream Hollywood. "When a tech-forward, physical gallery space merges with powerhouse digital collectors like <a href="https://twitter.com/Kingofmidtown1">King of Midtown</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/33nft/">33</a>, magic happens."The exhibit was curated by Athanasios Polihronopoylos, known as the King of Midtown, an NFT art collector in New York turned innovator and founder of The Crypt Gallery. The exhibit features the works of well-known digital artists such as Chad Knight, Yo Brilly, Lefty Out There, NessGraphics, Tillavision, Lana Denina, Brendan North, Jason Seife, and Robbie Trevino.One of the catalysts for the gallery, Polihronopoylos said, was the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. With people spending less time on their screens and discovering the digital world of NFTs, he wanted to continue the concept's momentum.<div type="image" title="The Crypt Gallery and Dream Hollywood Hotel's NFT exhibit" height="2268" width="3023" msid="87496523" hostid="261"></div>"I was thinking ahead in terms of what things would look like as we begin to globally reopen," he said. "I was always concerned about pullback from our screens. I thought artists could lose momentum, marketplaces would lose momentum - collectors like myself who have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into the space."He believed that having a physical presence for NFTs would not only help propel buyer participation but also help connect NFTs with a more mainstream audience. With the fast progression of the NFT industry and NFTs' global audience, the hospitality space provided the perfect avenue to reach a large group of people, Polihronopoylos said."As soon as you walk into the lobby, you're immersed in all the different videos," Fegans said. "There's so much. There's all of these beautiful images moving around on display. One panel has probably 40 to 50 artworks within it. I'd say miniature size, but really, really cool."<div type="image" title="Dream Hollywood Hotel's NFT exhibit" height="2274" width="3024" msid="87496525" hostid="261"></div>Fegans said he'd heard about NFTs before, but he didn't know much about them before visiting the exhibit - which he found comfortably busy for a Tuesday afternoon - for a 30-minute look. But, he said, since attending, he feels like he sees NFTs everywhere, with many brands talking about them through social media and email marketing."I feel like this is kind of the zeitgeist of the art world, where it's something that's been buzzing about, but you're like, 'What is it really?'" he said. "That's what it feels like culturally."He said the exhibit seemed to expect this and made an effort to not only impress exhibit attendees with art but also educate them on the workings of NFTs with educational vignettes in the form of video monitors - installations alongside the exhibits that educate and inform guests on the NFTs, the gallery, and the featured artists."It was kind of like art for dummies," Fegans said. "It was kind of assumed that you knew nothing about it, so there was a 'who, what, when, where, why.' I thought it was a really great experience that way. They did a great job of curating that experience."The partnership between Dream Hollywood and The Crypt Gallery is expected to grow, with a plan in place to launch a new exhibit in New York City.

The Dream Hollywood hotel opened an NFT art gallery in its lobby. Here's a look at what it's like.

<ul><li>From concert tickets, learning the language, albums, and photo books, to online or in-person meet-and-greets, K-pop fans leave no stone unturned in immersing themselves in their idols’ culture.</li><li>Now, with <keyword id="10879114" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Non-fungible-Tokens" source="Orion">Non-fungible Tokens</keyword> (NFTs), owning a special item is always going to be attractive to all dedicated fans.</li><li>K-pop fans, brand experts and NFT marketplaces tell us all you need to know about the oncoming wave of K-pop NFTs.</li></ul>It was in 2012 that Korean Singer Park Jae-sang’s (PSY) song ‘Gangnam Style’ took the world by storm, became the <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2019/12/20/youtube-most-viewed-music-videos-from-gangnam-style-to-despacito/2702463001/">most </a>streamed song on YouTube and what followed was the birth of the South Korean Wave or Hallyu in India. <div type="image" title="Gangnam style gif" msid="90628215" hostid="261"></div> This global phenomenon was later driven by music, movies, and dramas, which further rose to popularity in India during the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/9/15/k-craze-korean-dramas-and-culture-are-taking-india-by-storm">lockdown</a>. For most fans, the affair with South Korean culture began with Korean popular music (K-pop) and its biggest bands such as Bangtan Sonyeondan (BTS), Blackpink, MonsterX, iKon, Big Bang, Twice, and Red Velvet. Slowly, the fondness expanded to the food they ate, the language they spoke, the make-up and jewellery they wore, and a highly enthusiastic, loyal and active fandom was born. As per research and analytics firm <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/956032/south-korea-kpop-popularity-in-india/">Statista’s </a>recently conducted survey in India between the ages of 15 and 59 years who had experienced South Korean cultural content, K-pop was considered to be very popular by 34.4% of respondents. Statista’s another <a href="https://www.statista.com/topics/5098/music-industry-in-south-korea/#:~:text=All%20in%20all%2C%20the%20South,to%20become%20a%20global%20phenomenon.">report </a>on Korean culture said that the South Korean music industry achieved an all-time high sales revenue of over ₩6.8 trillion in 2019, as well as an export value of over $756 million, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/01/30/bts-kpop-bighitentertainment/">which accounts for a sizeable 0.3% contribution to South Korea’s GDP</a>. The same survey found that the <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/937260/south-korea-reasons-for-kpop-popularity-worldwide/">main reason for its popularity</a> were the catchy rhythms and choruses. Indian digital content creator, Radhika Bangia, who often dresses up as her favourite Korean characters on Instagram, is followed by 1.6 million people. Her bio, “Crash landing on K-dramas”, explicitly declares her love for the Korean culture to the world. It was her Korean best friend in New Zealand who introduced her to K-pop. Bangia got really hooked on to the music when Boy With Luv, a BTS song, came out and in the world of K-drama, it was Boys Over Flowers for her. She says that she has been surprised at the speed which K-Pop and K-drama have grown in India. “K-Pop/K-Drama is mainly a love-it or hate-it affair (even though it’s so catchy I’m not sure how you can hate it). It’s so much fun to meet and interact with other K-Pop/K-Drama fans and see their enthusiasm for it,” says Bangia in an emailed reply to Business Insider. Why Indian advertisers need to take K-pop fandom more seriously Fans of K-drama and K-pop have created various groups on Facebook, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/">Reddit</a>, Telegram, Clubhouse, where they bond over their shared love for South Korean culture. Their loyalty for their favourite stars is most apparent in the <a href="https://www.d8aspring.com/eye-on-asia/the-power-of-k-pop-groups-in-endorsement-deals">rise </a>of K-Pop Twitter fancams, record-breaking YouTube streams, and sold-out concerts and merchandise. As per Southeast Asian e-commerce aggregator, iPrice Group, a devoted member of the BTS army across Southeast Asian countries, must have <a href="https://iprice.ph/trends/insights/how-much-money-do-kpop-fans-spend-on-their-idols/">spent </a>an average of $1,422, which is equivalent to buying an iPhone 12 Pro. This average purchase includes at least 15 studio albums, five concerts and numerous merchandise. <div type="image" title="k-pop" msid="90628210" hostid="261"></div> Fans of K-pop across South Asian countries and globe, do not shy away from spending money to support their idols. It is a quality that brands look for in their ambassadors -- the ability to start a conversation among a huge fan following and their social currency. BTS followers are also one of the major representatives of the <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-10-28/bts-k-pop-stans-are-fighting-qanon-and-maga-on-social-media?utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;cmpid=socialflow-twitter-businessweek&amp;utm_content=businessweek">online “stan” culture,</a> where super fans use different online channels, especially social media, to continuously promote and defend their idols. According to <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/bts-twitter-account-mentions-fans-1128480/">Twitter</a>, BTS has been the most-tweeted-about band on Twitter for four consecutive years. However, in India, only multinational food chain McDonald’s has tried to leverage on this huge stan culture. Last year in April, McDonald’s launched the BTS Meal across 11 countries in Asia, including India. The internet <a href="https://www.campaignasia.com/article/bts-campaign-in-asia-has-been-phenomenal-mcdonalds-asia-marketer/469926">exploded </a>with messages from ARMY, fans of BTS, and McDonald’s. Apart from that, we have only seen international collaborations such as Samsung, Coke and Hyundai with BTS. Telling us why Indian brands have failed to jump in the whirl of Hallyu, Lloyd Mathias, business strategist and marketing expert, says, “Indian brands have yet to tap into the immense potential of K-Pop as a marketing tool, partially because of the inability of marketers to fully comprehend the phenomenon and more specifically as Indian brands will have to enter into specific licensing arrangements with them. For global brands like Coke and McDonald’s and Korean brands like Hyundai and Samsung, this clearly poses no problems.” K-drama fan Bangia was thrilled at the idea of two cultures coming together. “I would personally love to see some Indian brands collaborating with BTS or BlackPink. I think the mixing of cultures would be cool to see!” While Indian fans are getting their dose with international collaborations and the merchandise available online, the unconditional love that ARMY and various K-pop fans extend, offer an immense potential for brands in bringing in new consumers. Anjali Malthankar, national strategy director at digital advertising agency Tonic Worldwide, says, “Indian brands are treating K-pop as topical content, but there is a big opportunity for Indian brands to ride the wave and appeal to the K-pop fanbase. What fans in India would want, is to be as close to the K-pop stars as possible, and to have access to them. In fact, that’s what K-pop has cracked on social media. They know what their fans want and the whole model is about giving power to the fans to make their favorite stars more popular. I feel, a live concert, physical or virtual/experiential can be a big platform for Indian brands to participate.” On the other hand, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of blockchain analytics company bitsCrunch, Vijay Pravin Maharajan points out that it would be unfair to say that Indian brands have failed to capitalise on its popularity as there are so many different opportunities for brands to draw in audiences. “It is important to remember that, like South Korea, India is home to a thriving local entertainment industry and is a melting pot for entertainment worldwide. Even among those who were favourable to K-pop, there are certainly other genres and industries they engage with. It is highly unlikely that the average Indian K-pop fan engages exclusively with the genre. Indian brands are likely to go with local entertainment and artists, of which there is an almost continuous supply,” says Maharajan. Can NFTs be a place where fans get their due? Any fan is not just a spectator or silent admirer of art, they are active stakeholders who go out of their way to support their idols. From concert tickets, learning the language, buying albums, and creating photo books, to online or in-person meet-and-greets, K-pop and K-drama fans leave no stone unturned in <a href="https://homegrown.co.in/article/803152/merchandise-events-more-a-guide-to-everything-k-pop-in-india">immersing </a>themselves in their idols’ culture. And Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are pushed toward heavily engaged fandom. Apart from <a href="https://www.verizon.com/business/small-business-essentials/resources/beliebers-why-care-231604811/">Beliebers</a>, <a href="https://fandomwire.com/popular-actors-who-are-bigger-potterheads-than-you/">Potterheads</a>, <a href="https://www.diggitmagazine.com/articles/taylor-swift-and-story-swifties-fandom">Swifties </a>and fans who form a beeline diligently in front of Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan’s bungalows in Mumbai, K-pop and K-drama lovers are amongst the biggest communities. With K-pop NFTs, fans can own a special collectible item that would stay with them forever, even transfer onto different clouds. It would get them an opportunity to support their artist directly, flaunt their fandom and become a part of the larger community. So, can K-pop NFTs be the next big wave in the growth of Korean culture in India? Brand guru Mathias says yes. “I believe NFT can help take this to the next level given that many can now ‘own’ part of the phenomenon in the metaverse.” Korean culture has successfully built a sense of connectivity and relativity with the Indian masses, owing to the commonality of culture in terms of food habits, manners, and behaviour. With NFTs, fans of these two cultures can support their favourite artists. Ramkumar Subramaniam, CEO and cofounder of no-code NFT platform GuardianLink, says, “With the rise of NFTs aided by the popularity digital currency and assets have garnered, especially in the entertainment and art fields, even the globally famous South-Korean band, BTS, entered the red-hot NFT space in November. Given that India is rapidly adopting NFTs as a way of building connect with their favourite artists, NFTs are anticipated to be the next big thing fuelling Korean culture’s penetration in India.” Sai Krishna VK, founder of visual tech company Scapic, who is also known for his content around crypto and investment, says, “NFTs intrinsically capture value that fandom has always had, the only difference is that this value is now a direct relationship and with ownership too, in some cases. Industries like K-pop will be among the biggest to benefit from this as the chance to interact, engage and be closer to the stars you idolise is the sort of technology product that was simply not possible before this.” The initial buzz around the world of NFT was by crypto investors. They finally found a medium to spend their digital money on. Now, from <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/prabhas-posters-from-radhe-shyam-to-be-available-as-nfts/articleshow/90054402.cms">Prabhas </a>fans to K-pop, NFTs are attracting more diverse audiences and fandoms. Finfluencer Neha Nagar has been talking about the growth of NFT and crypto in India. She thinks that the introduction of K-pop NFTs to India will give a push to both Korean culture and NFT’s adoption. “K-pop fans are a very strong community, now every K-pop fan will be forced to think about NFTs, which will lead some of them to actually buy those NFTs for the sake of love for their k-pop stars. K-pop fans already have spent on merchandise and tickets to support their stars. Owning k-pop, NFTs will now be called ‘a proof of being a k-pop fan,’ especially genZ will get more attracted to NFTs now, which will push the NFT craze to next level. This is going to be quite exciting!” Maharajan of bitsCrunch says, “With the growing popularity of K-pop in India, moving the production of music videos to the digital realm may be the way of the future.” While K-pop fans are voicing their <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2021/12/nft-kpop-environmental-problems/621091/">concerns </a>over carbon-torching NFT, various <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/binance-and-the-record-label-behind-k-pop-sensation-blackpink-will-work-on-creating-eco-friendly-nfts/articleshow/89435868.cms">labels </a>have started working on launching greener NFTs. Bangia is optimistic that K-pop fans will accept NFTs that support their favorite artists, “but my personal hope is that we can find a way to minimise the amount of energy that blockchain requires,” she adds. K-pop has been able to make international inroads in recent years and now with the arrival of various K-pop NFTs, the future of hallyu in India looks <a href="https://youtu.be/gdZLi9oWNZg">Dynamite</a>!

NFTs may finally leverage India's fandom for Korean drama and music, which Indian brands have failed to cash in on

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6354947" type="General" weightage="60" keywordseo="bitcoin" source="Orion">Bitcoin</keyword> can be at the heart of the transition towards renewable energy, Foundry boss Mike Colyer said.</li><li>He said <keyword id="1660859" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="bitcoin-Mining" source="Orion">bitcoin mining</keyword> can help renewable projects manage oversupply and support more investment.</li><li>Many remain unconvinced, with Bank of America attacking bitcoin's energy use this week.</li></ul>Bitcoin mining can help the development of renewable energy technologies by allowing a quicker return on green investments, according to the head of one of North America's biggest <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=article-editorial">crypto miners</a>. Mike Colyer, chief executive of <a href="https://dcg.co/">Foundry</a>, a sister company of major bitcoin player Grayscale, told Insider he thinks <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/btc-usd">bitcoin</a> can be "a bridge between our current energy production and this future world of renewable energy production." His argument is the boom in green-energy creation has led to oversupply in many areas, which can be difficult to manage and costly for renewables firms. Colyer said locating bitcoin mines near renewable energy projects can help deal with this oversupply, in turn helping the development of green technology. "It allows for a faster payback on those solar projects or wind projects, which means more of them can be built faster in regions where before it was not attractive, because they would produce too much energy for the grid in that area," he said. Other miners <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-mining-energy-cost-environmental-sustainable-consumption-network-profitability-crypto-2021-3">have echoed this argument</a>, although the secretive nature of the industry means it is difficult to gauge the rate of change. And many remain unconvinced. As the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-price-analysis-february-recap-record-setting-cryptocurrency-2021-2#:~:text=February%20was%20a%20record%2Dbreaking,the%20world's%20most%20popular%20cryptocurrency.ncy.">bitcoin price has soared this year</a>, arguments over its intense energy use have heated up, with climate concerns <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/bitcoin-btc-energy-use-worry-big-investors-fahad-kamal-kleinwort-2021-2-1030131653">making some investors wary</a> of the world's biggest <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=article-editorial">cryptocurrency</a>. Bank of America analysts on Wednesday <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-uses-more-energy-than-american-airlines-bank-of-america-2021-3">said in a note</a> that bitcoin is "not good news for the environment," estimating that it uses almost the same amount of electricity as the Netherlands. "Bitcoin's estimated energy consumption has grown over 200% in the past two years, creating large environmental risks," the analysts, including commodities strategist Francisco Blanch, wrote. They noted that most mining is done in China, where coal is dominant. Bitcoin is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-bitcoin">"mined"</a> when computers are hooked up to the cryptocurrency's network to verify transactions. As a reward for this work, which involves solving puzzles, miners can sometimes receive small amounts of bitcoin. Huge amounts of computing power are now dedicated to mining bitcoin, with more drawn in as the price skyrockets. Yet Colyer said bitcoin mining is increasingly using renewable energy as green power becomes cheaper. His mining company Foundry is owned by Grayscale-owner Digital Currency Group, and also provides equipment financing and advice. "The bitcoin algorithm is relentless in its drive for efficiency and cost reduction," he said. "It's built in, there's no stopping it. Every miner in the world is constantly looking for ways to take cost out of the production of bitcoin. And the most cost-effective energy [in North America] is renewable energy." A <a href="https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/faculty-research/centres/alternative-finance/publications/3rd-global-cryptoasset-benchmarking-study/">report from Cambridge University</a> in September last year estimated 39% of proof-of-work mining is powered by renewable energy, primarily hydroelectric. Michel Rauchs, an affiliate of the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, told Insider it is difficult to come up with an accurate assessment of how "green" bitcoin is. He said within China the renewable share of mining changes throughout the year due to "seasonal migration patterns" that see miners move towards hydroelectric plants during the wet season. "So it really depends at what point of time... you're looking at this," he said. The Bank of America analysts argued bitcoin's energy consumption is only going to worsen due to the system's structure, which makes mining more difficult over time. "The rising complexity of the system creates ultimately a vicious environmental cycle of rising prices, rising hashpower, rising energy consumption and, ultimately, rising CO2 emissions," they wrote. Colyer said Foundry is working on a number of ways to make mining greener. "We're focused on the newer technology, like immersion mining where the machines are actually put in a coolant and they don't use air cooling... We work with the flare gas guys that are chasing the flare gas emissions." However, many investors are worried about how long it might take to make bitcoin green. Bank of America said: "As renewable energy production increases over the next 20 years, quantum computers reduce energy usage, and new, more efficient crypto assets continue to emerge, the cryptocurrency space could eventually find ways to reduce its carbon footprint. "But a rapid surge in adoption of bitcoin presents a major risk, and thus drives bitcoin's low environmental score."

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