WAO ART #333

Stablecoin firm Circle has confidentially filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This comes a year after Circle terminated its previous plan to go public through a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC).

Coinbase, a global crypto exchange, has partnered with Yellow Card, Africa's stablecoin exchange, to increase access to the USD Coin stablecoin in Nigeria and 19 other African countries. Users in these countries will be able to purchase USDC directly from Coinbase's Wallet app starting in February.

France has had to melt down and remint 27 million coins after the European Commission deemed that the stars on the coins did not conform to their requirements. The Monnaie de Paris, the country's mint, produced the coins with a new pattern but later discovered the design did not meet EU regulations.

On January 12, 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto sent Hal Finney the first Bitcoin transaction, marking a significant moment in Bitcoin's history. The transaction was worth 10 bitcoins, but had no monetary value at the time. There has been speculation that Finney was Satoshi Nakamoto.

Singapore-based blockchain gaming studio SkyArk Studio has raised $15 million in a financing round led by Binance Labs to expand its blockchain game project, SkyArk Chronicles. The funds will be used to develop the play-and-earn game, which allows players to earn cash through NFTs and crypto.

Google has joined a consortium to deploy the first subsea cable between Chile and Australia. The cable, named Humboldt, will directly connect South America and the Asia-Pacific region. The project was initially announced in 2022 by Chilean state-run infrastructure fund Desarrollo País and H2 Cable.

The Peruvian government is considering providing additional financial aid to state-owned oil company Petroperu, which recently experienced a cash crunch. The company requires $1.57 billion to finance crude oil imports for its upgraded Talara refinery.