WAO ART #307

Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida, has announced the birth of an African elephant calf, the first in seven years. The baby girl, named Corra, weighs 218 pounds and is currently bonding with her mother, Nadirah. Disney's Animal Kingdom is known for its dedication to wildlife conservation and education.

Bitcoin analyst MDB discusses the impact of Bitcoin NFTs on the Bitcoin network. He believes that while NFTs are not widely used for transactions, they are being used to store images and intellectual property for marketing purposes. MDB sees this trend as a test for the strength of the Bitcoin network.

Tether, a cryptocurrency tied to the US dollar, has become the preferred coin for Chinese-linked activities in Cambodia's underground crypto economy. Despite being banned in Cambodia, Tether is used to move money in and out of China, for gambling, and laundering money.

Chileans are voting in a second referendum to replace the country's Pinochet-era constitution. The previous progressive draft was rejected, and now voters are being asked to approve or reject a more conservative version. The referendum was prompted by widespread anti-government protests in 2019.

Australia's commodity export earnings are expected to decline in the next few years due to a drop in iron ore, liquefied natural gas, and coal prices, according to government forecasts. The Department of Industry, Science and Resources predicts that energy and resources exports will fall to $408B.

German development bank KfW is planning to launch tokenized bonds in early 2024, following its previous exploration of digital bond offerings. The bank initially used a central securities depository for its digital bond offering in 2023 but aims to fully decentralize its proposed 2024 offering.

Blackrock, the world's largest asset manager, has met with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) four times recently to discuss its spot Bitcoin ETF application. Other companies, including Fidelity and Grayscale Investments, have also met with the SEC regarding their spot bitcoin ETF applications.