It's time for Twitter Crypto... social media giant Twitter is creating a team dedicated to cryptocurrency and related tech, it has been announced.

Taking to the platform on Wednesday, [Tess Rinearson](https://twitter.com/_tessr) confirmed she has been appointed to lead the new team.

She said Twitter Crypto will explore future opportunities to support users with an interest in cryptocurrency and digital assets as it looks to ‘push the boundaries’.

## A New Team for Crypto

Rinearson, who has previously worked at Interstellar and Tendermint, tweeted: ‘I’m thrilled to share that I’ve joined Twitter, to lead a new team focused on crypto, blockchains, and other decentralized technologies—including and going beyond cryptocurrencies.

‘As I build out the team, we’ll be working to figure out what crypto can do for Twitter, as well as what Twitter can do for crypto. Twitter truly “gets” crypto (hello bitcoin tipping & NFTs!) but there’s so much more to explore here.

‘First, we’ll be exploring how we can support the growing interest among creators to use decentralised apps to manage virtual goods and currencies, and to support their work and communities.

‘Looking farther ahead, we’ll be exploring how ideas from crypto communities can help us push the boundaries of what’s possible with identity, community, ownership and more.

‘And, of course, we’ll be working closely with the @bluesky team to help shape the future of decentralized social media (and to make sure that Twitter stays on the cutting edge of this new landscape, too!).’

She concluded: ‘Twitter Crypto will underpin all of this work, and serve as a “center of excellence” for all things blockchain at Twitter. We’ll be hiring for roles in engineering and product. If this sounds exciting, please get in touch!’

## Jack Dorsey Influences Crypto Adoption

The Twitter Crypto move isn’t entirely a surprise, given founder Jack Dorsey’s public position on crypto. His firm Square Crypto made its first appointment back in 2019, former Google product management expert Steve Lee, for example.

In addition, Square last year bought $50m of BTC and, in July, it said it is trying to buld a hardware wallet.

Dorsey has already said Bitcoin will be a big part of his commercial future. Earlier this year, he confirmed he was putting money forward to help fund BTC development, both in a venture which also involved rapper Jay-Z and through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Twitter Embraces Crypto with Dedicated Team

Bitcoin miners in the mining industry are planning to move towards nuclear energy as pressure to go green increases.

According to Harry Sudok from [GRIID](https://grid-mining.com/?a=about), nuclear energy presents a 'tremendous opportunity to introduce enormous amounts of clean, carbon-free energy' to the base load. Sudok spoke at the Bitcoin and Beyond Virtual Summit earlier this month for American Bitcoin mining company, GRIID.

## Hopes for Nuclear Expansion

He said; “The growth rate is largely focused around solar and wind right now, and that’s just the reality of the programs that have been rolled out over the last 8-10 years. But what we’d love to see is an expansion of nuclear".

GRIID is a renewable energy company that specialises in solar and wind power. They have been mining since 2013 and offer full service to their customers who want to get involved with Bitcoin, but don't know how to start.

## Benefits of Using Renewables

Sudok believes the industry needs widespread adoption of renewables before it can be successful globally. He also wants more people to understand the benefits of using renewables. He said; “We need to communicate all the positive things that are happening in renewable energy, not just reduced emissions".

Sudok claims that GRIID has experienced an exponential growth rate for 12 months. They have expanded their customer base and staff numbers during this period.

Bitcoin Miners Look Towards More Sustainable Energy

A senior UK Government member has admitted a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) for the country may not arrive until the second half of this decade.

While confirming it will take ‘several years’, John Glen, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, also sounded a note of caution about whether a UK CBDC will even go ahead.

The UK is actively exploring the potential for a retail central bank digital currency to complement to cash and bank deposits.

If it proceeds, it would be a new form of digital money, denominated in Sterling and issued by the Bank of England, for everyday payment use.

## Delivering UK CBDC Would Require Lots of Work

In early 2021, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer created a taskforce to explore a retail central bank digital currency and moves to engage stakeholders including consumer groups, businesses and tech experts. The intention is to ensure UK authorities approach consideration of a CBDC in a coordinated way.

So far, no decision has been taken, and more consultation is due to start next year.

Delivering an update on the project, Mr Glen said: ‘Exploring and delivering a UK CBDC, if there were a decision to proceed, would require carefully sequenced phases of work, which will span several years.

‘HM Treasury and the Bank of England will publish a consultation in 2022 setting out their assessment of the case for a UK CBDC, including the merits of further work to develop an operational and technology model.

‘If there is a decision to proceed following the consultation, a development phase would include the publication, by the Bank of England, of a technical specification to explain the proposed conceptual architecture for a UK CBDC. This development phase could involve in-depth testing of the optimal design for, and feasibility of, a UK CBDC.’

## Liaising with International Partners

This could then lead to a build and testing phase, but Mr Glen warned : ‘Given the scale and national importance of such a project, this phase would likely take several years and could involve the development of large-scale prototypes and live pilots.

‘Were the results of each of these phases to conclude that the case for CBDC were made, and that it were operationally and technologically robust, then the earliest date for launch of a UK CBDC would be in the second half of the decade.’

The UK Government will also liaise with international partners on the global implications of any such move.

Bank of England CBDC Would Take ‘Several Years’

New York City’s mayor-elect Eric Adams took to Twitter last week saying that he would accept his first three wages in Bitcoin. The bond between Bitcoin and newly elected US officials is growing stronger, and that’s likely to hasten the pace at which new cryptocurrency regulatory measures are implemented.

The remarks were interpreted as an attempt to upstage Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who said earlier that _he_ would accept 100% of _his_ salary in Bitcoin. Suarez told a major media outlet that the move would ‘send a message to the world that we are going to be one of the most innovative governments and innovative cities on the planet’.

Adams is apparently hoping to promote the same message in New York City.

## Will Crypto Contribute to the Economy?

The mayoral announcements are another win for cryptocurrencies, but they also serve as a reminder that Bitcoin, unlike any other asset class, still operates without any governing body overseeing them. Nor do they have a centralised, regulated exchange where people can go to trade them.

Whether either mayor has any success in dictating to their employers the currency in which they must be paid is yet to be seen, but for big media markets like Miami and Chicago to suggest that cryptocurrencies will be a core component of their city’s economic makeup only adds fuel to Bitcoin’s upward trajectory, and that means the current US administration is feeling more pressure to apply regulatory measures to an environment it’s only now beginning to understand.

## Crypto Regulation Steps In

Cryptocurrency regulatory oversight will likely be divvied up among several regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with the key players expected to be:

### U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler - The SEC’s primary role is to protect investors and ensure the markets function in an orderly fashion. Gensler, who has extensive regulatory experience, is expected to make the most meaningful contributions to writing the new cryptocurrency regulatory rulebook. What is perhaps most intriguing about Gensler is his previous role at the storied ‘MIT’, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he taught a popular course called ‘Blockchain and Money’.

The most revealing of Gensler’s comments came at a recent conference where he compared cryptocurrencies, an asset class that’s been in existence for about 13 years, to a teenager, suggesting that the technology can’t be expected to reach ‘adulthood’ without regulatory oversight to usher the market to a state of maturity, and to stave off scams and criminal activities.

### Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen - Applauded for breaking so many glass ceilings, Janet Yellen is currently serving as the first female Secretary of the Treasury. As the incumbent of one of the most influential positions in American finance, it is within Yellen’s purview to lead the US Government in its oversight of the cryptocurrency market and its brokers. Prior to her role as secretary, Yellen spent several years as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors where she peaked as the chair of the Federal Reserve.

In many forums, Yellen is often excoriated for showing little support for the cryptocurrency market. While Yellen certainly can’t be considered a cheerleader of the digital assets market, I do believe she is genuine in her concern for reeling in the misuse of existing digital currencies, and that’s is something that would further strengthen an already robust cryptocurrency market.

### Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts) - Calling Senator Warren the _Cruella de Vil_ of the cryptocurrency universe may be a bit harsh, but the east coast progressive’s recent comments on digital assets most decidedly places her in the ‘sceptics’ column. Earlier this summer, Sen. Warren told [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/world/?region=world) that she’s doesn’t consider Bitcoin a reasonable hedge bet against inflation over the long run, and that’s one of the marquee reasons that some investors use as justification for purchasing Bitcoin, as a hedge against inflation.

## The Future for Crypto Wages

Looking ahead, Warren will be directly involved in formulating new regs on crypto in her role as a member of the Senate Banking Committee.

Cryptocurrencies are a technology that will revolutionize financial transactions at every level, and it will be incumbent on governments to come up with the appropriate cryptocurrency regulatory framework. The sooner reasonable regulations are applied, the sooner digital assets can evolve to their next level of usefulness.



Eric Adams: Wages in Bitcoin?

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, recently asked his Twitter followers whether or not he should sell 10% of his stocks shares in the company.

Tesla became the first car company in the market to be worth more than $1 trillion in the past year. This may be a good opportunity for investors with potentially high returns, as the company has shown previously.

## Musk Has $3.6 billion in Shares

Tesla shares are now around $363.54, meaning Musk's shares in the company are worth something in the ballpark of $3.6 billion. When you compare that to his net worth outside of Tesla it seems like nothing. He is currently estimated to be worth over $20 billion (via [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/europe)).

Musk ran a poll on Twitter that gave people the chance to vote for their decision. He tweeted: **"Much is made lately of unrealized gains being a means of tax avoidance, so I propose selling 10% of my Tesla stock. Do you support this?"**

The results showed that 57.9% voted yes- he should sell 10% of his Tesla stock. In total, around 3.5 million followers voted.



Will Elon Musk Sell £21bn of Tesla Stocks?

The adoption of blockchain technology continues apace with new and exciting avenues, presenting themselves on a weekly basis.

There is no more exciting environment than virtual reality and the metaverse right now. It seems as if these two worlds are the perfect fit for blockchain technology.

## GameFI Eco-System Fund

With this in mind, cryptocurrency trading giant FTX released details today of a brand new investment fund targeting [Gamefi](https://hub.gamefi.org/#/), the Metaverse and Web 3.0 companies. As a joint venture between FTX, Solana Ventures and LightSpeed Venture Partners, the ‘GameFi Eco-System Fund’ is allocating $100 million to invest in gaming studios, technology companies and ‘other projects’.

## Web 3.0

Web 3.0 can be thought of as the next evolutionary step of the internet. Through the use of artificial intelligence, decentralised networks and blockchain technology, the internet is set to undergo a revolutionary transformation. With many people viewing the evolution of Web 3.0 as less than 2 years away, the launch of the ‘GameFi Eco-System Fund’ is evidence that large investors are taking this space seriously.

This new version of the internet will be faster, fairer and have less need for central points of control and authority. Now, artificial intelligence and machine learning take the leg work out of administering and authenticating internet content.

## Play to Earn

Amy Wu of LightSpeed Venture Partners said gaming was a massive opportunity to ‘bring the next billion users to Web 3.0’. The global gaming market is currently estimated to be worth around $100 billion. Many analysts are expecting those figures to double in the next two years due to new concepts, which appeal to a much wider audience.

Mobile games like Axie Afinity and HeroFi have shown how blockchain technology and NFTs can be successfully incorporated into the gaming universe. Play to Earn gaming concepts have become huge hits in the Far East. Users can generate, trade and earn cryptocurrency by simply playing games on their mobile phones.

More [GameFi news](/news/category/gamefi).


‘GameFi Eco-System’ Fund $100m launch