The executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged El Salvador to drop the use of Bitcoin as legal tender in the country over the financial risks and liabilities created.

The stablecoin project backed by Meta – formerly known as Facebook – is seemingly winding down, with the Die Association reportedly looking  to sell off its assets and return capital to investors.

Russian Finance Ministry official Ivan Chebeskov has said the country should regulate the cryptocurrency market instead of banning it. Chebeskov’s comments come shortly after the central bank proposed banning the use and mining of cryptocurrencies.

The world of NFTs has held steady over the past week despite the declining cryptocurrency markets. In this week's NFT segment, we are going to take a look at World Of Women - a first-of-its-kind collection featuring 10,000 artworks of diverse women. This segment is brought to you in partnership with NFT data and discovery platform Masterpiece.

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Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• IMF Urges El Salvador to Drop Bitcoin as Legal Tender
• Meta’s Stablecoin Project Diem Considering Selling Assets
• Russian Finmin Official Calls for Crypto Regulation Instead of Ban
• NFT Spotlight: Exploring The World Of Women
• Sponsored: Score Up to $80 in Rewards with Bybit

IMF Urges El Salvador to Drop Bitcoin as Legal Tender

The executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged El Salvador to drop the use of Bitcoin as legal tender in the country over the financial risks and liabilities created.

In a newly issued report, IMF directors “stressed that there are large risks associated with the use of bitcoin on financial stability, financial integrity and consumer protection, as well as the associated fiscal contingent liabilities.”

They also urged the country’s authorities to “narrow the scope of the Bitcoin Law by removing bitcoin’s legal tender status.” Some directors also expressed concern over the issuance of bitcoin-backed bonds.

El Salvador is in negotiations with the IMF for a $1.3 billion loan. The country adopted BTC as legal tender in September and its president Nayib Bukele has since become a vocal cryptocurrency proponent.In this time, El Salvador has amassed more than 1,500 BTC.

Meta’s Stablecoin Project Diem Considering Selling Assets

The stablecoin project backed by Meta – formerly known as Facebook – is seemingly winding down, with the Die Association reportedly looking  to sell off its assets and return capital to investors.

The project’s members include some of the world’s largest tech companies and investors including Uber, a16z, Temasek, Spotify, Coinbase and Ribbit Capital. It’s unclear which of Diem’s members actually invested in the project, however.

According to reports the Diem Association has held discussions with investment bankers on selling its intellectual property and is trying to find new employment for its engineers. The discussions are ongoing.

Diem, initially known as Libra, faced stern opposition from regulators and was forced to rein in its ambitions because of it. The project first set out to launch a stablecoin backed by a basket of global fiat currencies, but morphed to launch individual coins backed by single national currencies.

Russian Finmin Official Calls for Crypto Regulation Instead of Ban

Russian Finance Ministry official Ivan Chebeskov has said the country should regulate the cryptocurrency market instead of banning it. Chebeskov’s comments come shortly after the central bank proposed banning the use and mining of cryptocurrencies.

Chebeskov, director of the finance ministry’s financial policy department, said the ministry has its own ideas on how to regulate the cryptocurrency market. One lawmaker, meanwhile, reminded the central bank that the power to create legislation lies with parliament.

Chebeskov noted Russia doesn’t want crypto-related technologies to leave the country, adding:

"The world has become very virtualised and I don't think we can allow ourselves to just take a high-tech industry and ban it,"

Russia has  argued against cryptocurrencies for years, saying they could be used to launder money or finance terrorism. The country’s central bank said last week that its financial stability and monetary policy sovereignty were under threat.

NFT Spotlight: Exploring The World Of Women

World Of Women is a first-of-its-kind collection featuring 10,000 artworks of diverse women, created by Yam Karkai. The collection launched in July 2021 with very clear goals in mind: “bring more visibility to women and more diversity in the NFT space.”

The collection sold out in less than a day and garnered support from notable celebrities and influencers in the NFT space, including hollywood actress Reese Witherspoon and MC Hammer. The collection acquired over 1,750 unique holders in 24 hours. A figure which has since grown in excess of 5,000.

Out of all tracked NFT sales last week, World Of Women featured as the 1st and 6th largest. World Of Women #9248 sold for $659,837.55 or Ξ260.00 and World Of Women #706 for $505,549.35 or Ξ210.00. These are just shy of the largest World Of Women (Women #6025) sale of all time, which was $758,982 or Ξ200.00.

The World Of Women team is passionate about growing the NFT art space and empowering women through art. Currently, 15% of all primary sales are reinvested into crypto art and sorted in the World Of Women Fund. The fund, is described as a “thoughtfully curated collection with art that pleases the eye and feeds the soul.” 2,5% of all primary sales are also donated to 3 causes supporting women in the real world.

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