Job creation is traditionally engineered by politicians desperate to get the country back to work and to be seen as stimulating the economy. From the job creation programs of the Great Depression to United States President Barack Obama’s American Jobs Act, employment schemes have a long, checkered history. Today, fostering meaningful employment for the masses remains as popular as ever with policymakers, and yet, the next great job creation scheme is unlikely to be issued as a top-down order. Rather, it will emanate from a realm that most politicians have little dominion over and few powers to control: the Metaverse. …

Last week, 55,000 parcels of “virtual land” were sold on the Ethereum blockchain for more than $300 million, the largest nonfungible token (NFT) mint ever. It wasn’t without controversy. In return for shelling out close to $6,000, a purchaser received an Otherdeed NFT, which authenticates that buyer’s ownership of a patch of digital real estate in developer Yuga Labs’ new Otherside game environment. What can you do with a plot of virtual ground? Well, you can develop your own online games on it or build a digital art gallery, among other things. Moreover, you might expect a lot of online …

The tokenization of global property markets has been an ambitious goal of the blockchain space, and decentralized finance (DeFi) could offer a novel solution for the sector to pick up the pace. Decentralized oracle network Chainlink is set to power a tokenized real estate platform serving the Latin American property market. LaProp will allow investors to buy tokenized shares in various real-world properties, which will yield a percentage of income from rental payments. LaProp will look to leverage Chainlink Keepers’ node operators’ track record in securing billions of dollars invested in DeFi markets. The decentralized automation service carries out tasks …

Florida-based ratings and research firm Weiss Ratings has fired out a warning over the risks of crypto mortgages amid the current economic climate in the United States. The company paid particular focus to Milo, a digital banking startup from Miami that offers 30-year mortgages backed by Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) or stablecoins as collateral. The firm requires zero down payments and its loan rates vary between 3.95% and 5.95%. In the Tuesday report, Weiss analyst Jon D. Markman urged caution with such mortgages, citing the poor performance of stocks and crypto this year, a U.S. housing bubble, rising interest rates …

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has once again slammed Bitcoin (BTC), asserting he “wouldn’t take” all of the BTC in the world for just $25. The 91-year-old, with a net worth of around $124 billion, is an avid crypto skeptic that once called Bitcoin “rat poison squared.” His arguments often stem around digital assets offering no tangible value, and the community has been quick to highlight on this occasion that there is a myriad of use cases and utility in crypto that Buffett likely hasn’t researched. Speaking at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder meeting on Saturday, Buffett commented on crypto in …

For years, cryptocurrency advocates have touted the world-changing capability of digital currency and blockchain technology. Yet with the passing of each market cycle, new projects come and go, and the promised utility of these “real-world use case” projects fails to satisfy. While a majority of tokens promise to solve real-world problems, only a few achieve this, and the others are mere speculative investments. Here’s a look at the three things cryptocurrency investors can actually “do” with their coins. Lending Perhaps the simplest use case offered to cryptocurrency holders is also one of the oldest monetary applications in finance: lending. Ever …

Blockchain real estate platform Propy has partnered with Abra to allow customers to obtain home loans using their cryptocurrency holdings, potentially widening the financial use cases of digital assets. Propy customers can now put up digital assets as collateral for their real estate purchases through Abra Borrow, a cryptocurrency lending and borrowing service. Crypto collateral pledged on Abra is used to borrow United States dollars that can then be applied to home purchases. The Propy blockchain records the entire transaction process, serving as the technical and legal framework for buyers and sellers. According to Propy, the blockchain records the transaction …

Multi-billion dollar Dubai-based real estate developer DAMAC Properties has started accepting Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) payments for its luxury abodes. DAMAC Properties was founded by colorful billionaire Hussain Sajwani in 2002, and the firm has conducted business throughout the middle east, Canada and the United Kingdom. It also owns high-end fashion and jewelry brands Roberto Cavalli and De-Grisgono. Sajwani is known for extravagant marketing tactics such as giving away free Lamborghinis to property buyers. He also teamed up with Donald Trump in 2013 to launch multiple Trump-branded golf courses in Dubai. The firm, valued at roughly $2.1 billion, may …

America’s housing market may soon be facing its next bubble as home prices across the country continue to be fueled by demand, speculation and lavish spending that could result in a collapse. Moreover, many homeowners are opting to stay put due to climbing mortgage rates, creating a housing shortage. Data from the Federal National Mortgage Association, commonly known as Fannie Mae, found that 92% of homeowners think their current home is affordable. Yet, findings further show that 69% of the general population, consisting of both homeowners and renters, believe it’s becoming too difficult to find affordable housing. Web3 and the …

Metaverses and blue-chip nonfungible tokens (NFTs) are the driving forces behind the dramatic growth in the NFT market. Projects like the Bored Apes, Crypto Punks, Azuki, Clone X and Doodles collections have steadily attracted collectors' interest in the past year. As a result, these NFT projects have helped the NFT market achieve a growth rate of over 20,000% and a sales volume of approximately $17 billion. For an industry that once occupied a tiny sliver of attention within the crypto/blockchain world, it's clear that NFTs are here to stay despite earlier critiques of their ephemeral nature. However, given the recent …

The Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro will officially start accepting Bitcoin (BTC) payments for taxes related to urban real estate within their city limits, a.k.a. Imposto sobre a propriedade predial e territorial urbana (IPTU). As reported by Cointelegraph Brazil, the new pro-crypto tax laws will be implemented from 2023, which was announced by the Secretary of Economic Development, Innovation and Simplification, Chicão Bulhões. Work from anywhere = Rio! Welcome @binance… Rio on blockchain! @eduardopaes https://t.co/NJEArEvEXV — Chicão (@ChicaoBulhoes) March 26, 2022 Supporting this cause led by the Brazilian Mayor Eduardo Paes, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announced to open a …

Real estate is an asset class that is ripe for integration with blockchain technology. Security tokens cover many categories but are dominated by real estate. The Cointelegraph Research Terminal is hosting a 33-page report by Security Token Market, a data and media firm, that covers the current state of real estate security tokens and the potential for continued adoption. If you represent a real estate firm or have a portfolio that encompasses real estate, this report has the information you need to know on this developing shift in the industry. Click here to purchase the full report, complete with charts …