The €2.65 million capital injection “on top” from Azimut and the appointment of new president Nicolas Bertrand, a senior executive at Borsa Italiana and the London Stock Exchange.
Milan, September 16, 2024 – Azimut, a leading independent asset management group in Europe with over €95 billion in assets under management, has strengthened its support for Young Platform through an additional €2.65 million capital investment. This new funding is an extension of Azimut’s prior investment of €11 million in June 2022, when it led a €16 million funding round.
Young Platform, the Italian fintech scale-up focused on democratising access to the cryptocurrency space, now boasts over 2 million registered users. Known for its extensive range of crypto services, Young Platform is positioned as a leader in Italy and well-prepared to tackle new challenges and introduce innovative products.
As part of this new phase, Young Platform has appointed Nicolas Bertrand, a seasoned executive from Borsa Italiana and the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), as its new president. This addition to the leadership team aligns with the company’s commitment to regulatory alignment and sustainable growth.
Further strengthening its leadership, Alexandru Stefan Gheban, one of the company’s six co-founders and former CFO, has been appointed CEO, working alongside co-CEO Andrea Ferrero.
“Since 2018, each funding phase has progressively strengthened Young Platform’s operational capabilities and market presence, paving the way for ongoing innovation and expansion,” noted Andrea Ferrero. “With this new financial operation, we are pleased to receive renewed trust from an important partner like Azimut as we prepare to launch new products and services that will enable Young Platform to build the first Banking 3.0 platform. Our platform will be without borders, seamlessly blending elements of traditional finance (TradFi) with the innovative functionalities of decentralised finance (DeFi), helping to make global banking faster, cheaper, and simpler.”
Young Platform remains committed to adhering to regulatory standards, a company’s core value. The platform is registered with Italy’s OAM (Organismo Agenti e Mediatori Creditizi) and is authorised by France’s AMF (Autorité des Marchés Financiers). It also includes an in-house Anti-Money Laundering (AML) department. It aligns with the European Union’s new Market in Crypto-Asset (MiCA) regulations, which will be rolled out in the coming months.Azimut Holding CEO Giorgio Medda commented on the strategic significance of the investment: “Our investment in Young Platform aligns perfectly with our venture capital activities that aim to identify top-tier projects within emerging sectors.
Although cryptocurrency remains a complex field for many investors, it is essential to approach it with expertise, critical thinking, and a committed stance. Young Platform exemplifies these qualities, and we are confident that its team will continue to create innovative solutions that could positively impact the financial industry.”
The Q3 2024 YNG Token Report – Key highlights and next steps
The latest quarterly report for the YNG token is here, bringing you a full update on recent developments and future milestones. What’s been happening in this action-packed quarter? And where are we heading next?
The YNG Token Report is essential reading for anyone following the progress of Young Platform’s utility token. It outlines the major steps we’re taking to introduce YNG to the decentralised market. This quarter’s strategy hinges on three core initiatives: buybacks, regular liquidityinjections, and both public and private sales. Full details on each can be found in the main report below.
What happened in Q3 2024?
Curious about what was achieved in Q3? The report details everything, including token issuance, purchases, sales, and the latest milestones achieved on the journey to decentralising YNG. In our roadmap to decentralisedmarketentry, you’ll also find updates on the broader token project and the current stage.
For a complete overview, read on to explore this October 2024 report.
Young Platform Club metrics: Q3 2024
YNG is the utility token of Young Platform, which provides members with access to exclusive subscription-based “Clubs” that reward our most committed supporters with unique benefits.
Currently, the Clubs include 1,659 members, split as follows:
Bronze Club: 1,172 members
Silver Club: 224 members
Gold Club: 131 members
Platinum Club: 132 members
Membership in these Clubs requires a locked balance of YNG tokens on the Young Platform exchange. This membership distribution demonstrates the token’s user base and influences market dynamics; the higher the Club membership, the lower the selling pressure on YNG, ultimately supporting price stability.
Since the launch of Staking, YNG holders have gained an additional benefit: token rewards provided through staking, exclusively in YNG. Full details on staking benefits can be found later in the report.
Membership Trends
Comparing these figures with those from Q2 2024 shows a slight decline in Club members, down from 1,699 to 1,659:
Bronze Club: 1,192 members
Silver Club: 230 members
Gold Club: 139 members
Platinum Club: 138 members
This represents a 3% decrease in membership numbers. However, recent updates to our ecosystem could shift this trend. In early October, we launched staking with enhanced rewards for Club members, and exclusive content from the crypto and finance event DYOR24 will soon be available to our most dedicated supporters.
YNG Token distribution and circulating supply
In June, the circulating supply of YNG was approximately 23.6 million, and by September, it had risen to around 23.67 million, marking a net increase of approximately 68,356 tokens, or 0.33%.
These tokens were allocated through various activities:
18,202 tokens were distributed via Quizzes, Challenges, and Up&Down (pre-Level implementation).
50,153 tokens awarded through Level completions.
YNG’s market operates through an algorithm managing the exchange rate using two underlying liquidity pools in EUR and YNG. At the May 2022 launch, these pools contained:
€1 million
4 million YNG
After accounting for buy and sell activities across Q3, by July 2024, the pools held:
€655,740
6.45 million YNG
This configuration reflects the token’s buy and sell dynamics over the past quarter, including price performance data presented later in the report.
YNG Token emissions in 2023
What happened in Q2 2024 in terms of Tokenomics?
The structure of YNG emissions saw its first major shift last year with the Step 3.0 updateand more recently, with the introduction of Staking. Regarding Step 3.0, we now have sufficient historical data to analyse its impact. For Staking, while still in the early stages, the initial results are aligned with our planned economic model, which we’ll explore further in this report.
As the chart illustrates, the latest Step update significantly curtailed YNG distribution, reducing new token emissions by 95%. A decrease in active users also influenced this outcome.
It’s important to highlight that YNG’s upcoming launch on the decentralised market will coincide with a full restructuring of its tokenomics. Specifically, our new features will channel token rewards exclusively to Club members, a model introduced with our latest Staking feature.
We anticipate a rise in YNG emissions starting in Q4 2024. However, increased Club membership and demand are likely to offset this, which could positively impact the token’s market dynamics.
YNG price analysis
YNG Price Trends in Q3 2024
Let’s examine YNG’s price movement throughout Q3 2024. Like Q2, the broader crypto market remained relatively stable over the summer, with Bitcoin trading within a narrow range of $67,000 to $55,000, showing no clear trend.
Similarly, YNG’s price exhibited low volatility, fluctuating slightly between $0.10 and $0.11.
Q3 2024 achievements
Our primary focus in Q3 2024 has been enhancing the Staking feature alongside ongoing developments in the YNG token project (which we’ll detail in a dedicated section). A key objective was to reintroduce the Earn feature, which we had paused in 2022, and to make significant strides toward regulatory compliance under the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework, partially enacted in late June.
This report provides an excellent opportunity to summarise our recent work. Let’s review the initiatives undertaken in 2024 to increase the value of our Clubs and, in turn, boost YNG’s appeal.
Staking on Young Platform
A key focus of Q3 2024: Staking
The highlight of Q3 2024 has been the rollout of our Staking feature. Though there are many exciting changes compared to the Earn function active on Young Platform until the end of 2022, the main objective remains: allowing users to earn rewards on their crypto assets easily and simply. Whether you’re a seasoned investor or a newcomer to the crypto world, Staking offers a straightforward way to put your assets to work and maximise returns.
Staking on Young Platform brings two primary benefits:
Simplicity: Earn rewards without needing to navigate the complexities of decentralised protocols.
Accessibility: Start with as little as €50, making staking available to users with smaller portfolios.
A unique aspect we want to emphasise in this report is that Staking represents the first feature developed under YNG’s new economic model, which will be discussed in detail later. Beyond the standard rewards, our most loyal members receive additional YNG token bonuses.
We aim to engage and reward Club members by providing enhanced benefits within our ecosystem. The following YNG bonus rewards are available depending on the Club membership level. To calculate the total value of these boosts, simply add the percentage below to the standardstaking APY. The maximum additional percentage varies depending on the staked asset:
Bronze Club: up to +5%
Silver Club: up to +15%
Gold Club: up to +30%
Platinum Club: up to +70%
Check out our dedicated guides for a more in-depth look at how staking works and how to make the most of this feature!
DYOR24: a successful event
Last week, we hosted DYOR24, a free online event that brought together Italy’s leading crypto and finance expertsin one virtual space. It was a tremendous success! Our team’s efforts were validated by the fantastic feedback we received regarding the quality and accessibility of our speakers. At Young Platform, we’ve always aimed to foster an environment where people can explore, discover, and ask questions without hesitation, and DYOR24 embodied this mission in every session.
But there’s more! In the coming days, DYOR24 will become an exclusive benefit for Club members, who will gain access to recordings of every guest session. This first online event will transform into a professional course, with experts stepping into the role of “instructors” to deliver over 24 hours of in-depth lessons on a range of critical topics across crypto and finance.
New benefits for Club members
In recent months, we’ve introduced two additional perks for our Club members through exclusive vouchers:
Saily: In September, we launched Saily, an international eSIM service enabling seamless internet access worldwide. Developed by Nord Security, the creators of NordVPN (a brand we already partner with), Saily is perfect for staying connected no matter where you are.
Tiqets: We recently announced our partnership with Tiqets, a service that provides discounted and queue-free access to museums, attractions, and activities worldwide—from New York to Tokyo, Rome to Paris.
These new benefits, alongside our collaborations with WeRoad, Saily, and now Tiqets, offer Club members a fully enhanced travel experience. With WeRoad, members can explore the world through exciting group trips. Saily ensures they stay connected online, and Tiqets allows them to make the most of their travel experiences quickly and conveniently.
More partnerships on the horizon
The new benefits don’t stop here. We are talking with other prominent brands to continue providing our members with increasingly valuable and exclusive benefits. Stay tuned to our blog and social media channels to be the first to hear about what’s next!
Exciting developments ahead!
Here’s where things get really interesting. As hinted earlier, Q3 2024 saw us focus on Staking and early groundwork for our upcoming Payment Account feature. Meanwhile, the YNG token has remained at the core of our efforts, with significant progress and a clear roadmap for its future—a main focus of this report.
Payment account & Card
As mentioned in the previous report and our dedicated AMA, we’ve been working on something special, a long-term project we’re thrilled to bring back into focus thanks to new opportunities that allow us to expand our vision.
This upcoming feature merges the best of traditional and digital finance into one seamless experience, elevating your daily interactions to something truly revolutionary. Rather than simply providing a tool, we aim to introduce a feature that integrates fully with our ecosystem, setting us apart from competitors. Our goal is to launch the Payment Account and its accompanying Card by the end of Q1 2025, and we are positioning the Clubs and YNG token to play a central role in this ecosystem.
New Staking developments
The Staking feature, launched on 7 October, is just the beginning. In addition to app integration and the ability to stake Solana (SOL), we’re actively working to expand staking options across a broader range of cryptocurrencies, enabling users to earn rewards on more assets they hold.
As always, we welcome user feedback to guide us in implementing new staking options that best meet our community’s needs.
Tokenomics: the evolution of Young (YNG)’s Economic Model
In Q3, we reviewed and refined the documents created in Q2, incorporating valuable feedback from fund managers and advisors. Alongside these refinements, we developed an enhanced economic model for YNG, positioning it as a core driver of engagement within our ecosystem and directly rewarding user participation.
A live session initially planned for our Platinum Channel members was postponed over the summer due to essential revisions, but it will now be rescheduled following the AMA for this report to cover all the latest updates.
With the recent launch of staking, many of you have noticed that YNG has evolved beyond its previous role as a simple reward in Step. YNG will be integrated across most of our platform’s features, incentivising activities like learning, trading, and transactions and making Club membership more appealing.
New YNG Model: incentives for platform engagement and Club Membership
Our revised YNG model is designed to reward user activity and promote Club membership. Every interaction on the platform—whether educational, trading, buying, or selling—earns users rewards, thus enhancing the value of joining our Clubs. This approach draws in new users and encourages our existing community to participate more deeply, fostering organic growth, a balanced token economy, and long-term sustainability.
Key features of the new model and the upcoming steps towards decentralised market entry include:
Reward Structure
Our reward system aims to attract new users and boost community engagement. By offering a variety of incentives linked to user actions, we are promoting Club participation and building a more vibrant, dynamic community. Here’s an overview of our primary reward structures:
Learn Reward: Users earn YNG by engaging with educational content and games on the platform. This initiative rewards learning and commitment, helping users expand their financial knowledge while strengthening their connection to our ecosystem.
Staking Reward: Club members who use our staking feature (or staking services from third parties like LIDO, available through the platform) receive additional YNG rewards. This mechanism encourages Club participation and engagement with our ecosystem’s features without substantially increasing token circulation.
Card Cashback: Transactions made through the upcoming “Payment Account & Card” feature will earn users cashback in YNG. This reward structure is designed to maximise the benefits of everyday transactions and encourage the use of the payment account.
Exchange Cashback: Users will also receive cashback in YNG on trading fees, which is designed to boost trading activity and increase platform interaction.
Each of these reward structures is designed to make YNG a central and valuable asset within our ecosystem. They fairly reward users while encouraging them to explore and use the platform’s full suite of features.
YNG Treasury
The YNG Treasury is a fundamental pillar of the token’s economic model, designed to ensure stability and support long-term growth. It will accumulate some fees generated from YNG reward-based platform activities and funds raised in upcoming sales stages. These funds will be strategically allocated to activate the stabilisation mechanisms described below, ensuring sufficient liquidity to maintain balance in the token market.
Additionally, the treasury will serve as a reserve to fund YNGdevelopment, marketing, and promotionalinitiatives, supporting the expansion of the ecosystem. Prudent management of treasury funds will sustain a long-term, balanced model, encouraging organic community growth and reinforcing YNG as a valuable asset for users. We are committed to maximum transparency in treasury fund use, providing periodic updates to allow the community to monitor and assess treasury operations.
Stability mechanisms
The economic model for YNG includes various mechanisms designed to stabilise and sustain the token in the long term. Our strategy seeks to balance YNG demand and supply dynamically, ensuring price stability and fostering communityengagement. Here are the primary tools to achieve this balance:
1. Club entry token rebalancing: This will be the first mechanism activated, with a start date announced after consulting Club members. The mechanism periodically adjusts the number of YNG tokens required for Club access based on price fluctuations. If YNG’s price rises compared to the previous period, the token requirement will decrease by 50% of the price increase. Conversely, if the price decreases, more tokens will be required without an additional 50% on the rise.
Example: If YNG’s price rises by 10%, the token requirement drops by 5%. If the price falls by 10%, the token requirement increases by 10%. This adjustment will start from the current entry requirements, based on the original listing price of €0.24, balancing accessibility with user commitment while rewarding early adopters who join Clubs before new features arrive.
2. Add Liquidity: The Add Liquidity function ensures two conditions are met before adding EUR and YNG tokens to the liquidity pool:
Monthly Budget: Ensures sufficient monthly treasury or revenue funds are allocated to liquidity.
YNG Availability in Treasury: Confirms the treasury holds enough YNG for liquidity addition.
When both conditions are satisfied, liquidity is added to the pool, helping to stabilise or boost liquidity and mitigate significant price fluctuations for YNG.
3. Buyback: The Buyback function is also regulated by the monthly budget, allowing the platform to purchase YNG from the market using treasury EUR. This reduces YNG’s circulating supply and supports its price. A buyback occurs only when adequate funds in the treasury cover the transaction amount, ensuring controlled management of YNG supply and price stability over time.
The coordinated implementation of these mechanisms is designed to ensure stable YNG liquidity, promote organic community growth, and support the ecosystem’s evolution. Our model is built around Club membership growth, retention rates, and market dynamics, which we will continuously monitor. Adjustments to rewards and stabilisation mechanisms will be made to maintain economic stability.
Roadmap to the Decentralised Market
Before delving into our roadmap, let’s take a moment to reflect on what we’ve achieved since Young Platform’s founding in 2018. Over the years, we’ve built a robust ecosystem for YNG, navigating regulatory challenges, earning our community’s trust, and setting the stage for a sustainable decentralised market. Each phase has been part of a well-defined strategy designed to stabilise the token, drive platform growth, and deliver real value to our users.
Phase 1: YNG Airdrop
Completed in June 2022, this phase marked the beginning of Young Platform products and the buy-sell availability of YNG at a fixed price of €0.24. The goal was establishing a stable foundation for YNG, adhering to regulatory requirements and building a solid platform for subsequent developments.
Phase 2: Community Market Pair
Currently underway, this phase introduced a proprietary Automated Market Maker (AMM), enabling the community to participate directly in a controlled and stable market environment. This phase has absorbed initial token sales and monitored user behaviour, creating a foundation for sustainable market management.
Phase 3: Engage to earn and decentralised transition
Scheduled for early 2025, Phase 3 will bring YNG into the decentralised market. This transition will coincide with the launch of our new reward structure, designed to incentivise user engagement and deepen community interaction.
Preparations for Decentralised Launch
To support Phase 3, we’ve outlined a series of preparatory steps to guide YNG into the decentralised market between Q4 2024 and Q1 2025:
Pre-TGE Buyback: This phase involves purchasing YNG tokens “on the market” to rebalance existing liquidity pools. The aim is to establish a strong price foundation for YNG before the official decentralised market launch. To simplify communication, we’re referring to the end of this launch campaign as the TGE (Token Generation Event) within our operational plan.
Private Sale: Select YNG tokens will be offered to venture capitalists, attracting strategic investors to support the project’s growth. Funds will bolster the treasury, finance development initiatives, and support buyback programmes. Private Sale participants will receive tokens on a structured vesting schedule over four years.
Suspension of YNG Trading on Young Platform and IDO Preparation: Before the IDO, YNG on Young Platform trading will be temporarily paused to facilitate a smooth transition to the decentralised market. During this stage, the IDO reference price will also be established.
IDO Sale: A portion of YNG tokens will be distributed through an IDO platform to increase the project’s visibility in the retail decentralised market. Funds raised will support liquidity management, contributing to token stability.
TGE and Decentralised Market Launch: This final stage will involve creating liquidity pools for YNG using decentralised protocols. Existing centralised pools will be migrated, and liquidity will be enhanced with funds raised in prior stages to ensure a strong foundation at launch. This step will consolidate YNG’s presence in the market, encouraging sustainable growth and greater accessibility.
That’s all for now—stay tuned on our channels!
The services offered, and the YNG token are and will remain available in compliance with applicable regulations, particularly the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. We are committed to ensuring that every aspect of the project aligns with regulatory requirements, fostering a transparent and responsible approach towards our community and investors. Additionally, the company reserves the right to modify the services and YNG token features outlined in this document in response to regulatory developments and/or market conditions. Any updates will be communicated promptly to keep all users informed.
Get ready for an unforgettable adventure because we’re about to elevate your cultural experiences to a new level.
Say goodbye to the hassle of choosing between endless options, wasting time at ticket counters, or standing in long lines. And no more worrying about losing money if you change your mind at the last minute—this new perk makes exploring culture simple, quick, and risk-free!
Introducing Tiqets, the platform that lets you discover museums and attractions around the globe with no queues. From aquatic activities in Dubai to distilleries in Dublin, stadiums in London, and day trips in Las Vegas, not to mention the Vatican Museums—there’s something for everyone!
Whether you’re an art lover or an adrenaline junkie, Tiqets lets you book tickets to the world’s top attractions with just a click, avoiding long lines and keeping everything conveniently on your smartphone. And of course, we’ve prepared an exclusive benefit for Club members, but that’s not all!
What is Tiqets?
If you haven’t heard of Tiqets, you’re in for a treat. Tiqets is an online booking platform that opens the doors to the world’s most incredible museums and attractions. From New York to Tokyo, with stops in Rome and Paris, Tiqets connects you to global culture in the easiest, most stress-free way.
100% Flexibility: Change of plans? No problem! With Tiqets, you can cancel reservations up to 24 hours before entry for most attractions.
Stress-Free Bookings: No hassle, no lines. Book with ease and get everything straight to your phone.
Unique Experiences: From iconic attractions to the world’s best museums, Tiqets offers only the best.
Special Perks for Club Members
Here’s the exciting part: if you’re a member of our Club, you get a special discount on 10 orders. Yes, you read that right—not just 10 tickets, but 10 complete orders! Every time you book for yourself, friends, or family, you’ll enjoy a discount on every ticket in that order.
Here are the details:
BRONZE and SILVER Members: 10% discount
GOLD and PLATINUM Members: 12% discount
This discount is available without a minimum spend and without discount limits, as it can be combined with other promotions available on the website.
Tiqets for the Community
We’ve created something special for all Young Platform Community members: a 5% discount without order limits. Like with the Clubs, the discount will apply to all tickets in any purchase. Copy and paste the code YOUTIQ5 at checkout!
Please note: read the next paragraph carefully to apply the discount correctly, and remember that it’s valid until December 31, 2025.
The coupon can be used up to 10 times (10 transactions), with no minimum spend or discount limits.
The offer can be combined with other promotions on the site.
The discount is not valid on Tiqets Packages or Bundles (which include multiple individual products).
Coupons are non-transferable and cannot be converted into cash or used on previous purchases.
If you need assistance during booking, check the dedicated page: Tiqets Support.
What are you waiting for? Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to explore the world’s cultural wonders while saving money and avoiding stress. Check out their Instagram for more ideas on how to turn your free time into unforgettable adventures: @Tiqets on Instagram.
Get ready to travel, explore, and have fun like never before!
The crypto world knows no borders. Thanks to Saily and the Young Platform Clubs, you can break down barriers and browse for free wherever you are.
There are countless crypto hubs worldwide: the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore, Lisbon, and Lugano. On its long journey towards adoption, the money of the future shares a characteristic with the generation that uses it most: it is global. For this reason, those working in this sector and those driven by passion might travel far and wide to attend events, summits, conferences, or hackathons.
However, there’s a slight problem: crypto and blockchain require an internet connection to function and be used. But don’t worry, if you’re part of the Young Platform Clubs, we’re here to help with a solution offered in partnership with Saily.
Saily is an international eSIM service created by Nord Security, which developed NordVPN. Although these two services—VPNs and eSIMs—may seem very different, they share the same goal: to allow users to browse the internet reliably, even when far from home. Saily offers hundreds of flexible data plans for travelling in over 150 countries, a quick setup procedure, and 24/7 chat support.
The data plans offered by Saily vary, and the features that differ depending on the chosen solution are twofold:
The duration: the number of days the eSIM remains active after activation.
The amount of GB the plan provides: 1, 3, 5, 10, and 20 GB.
When you choose an eSIM on Saily, you can’t change the duration, as it is automatically associated with the amount of GB. Solutions that include 1 GB of mobile data often have a duration of 7 days, while if you opt for a 3 GB plan or higher, you can use the eSIM for 30 days.
Thanks to some key features, Saily is establishing itself as a leading brand in this young sector. Firstly, its affordability. The price of Saily’s eSIMs is approximately 15% lower than that of its main competitors.
Additionally, thanks to the Top-Up function, Saily doesn’t require downloading a new eSIM whenever you change countries or run out of GB. Instead, you can add a new data plan from the same or another country to the SIM you already have. This feature is incredibly convenient for those embarking on a road trip.
How does the benefit work?
This time, we haven’t just offered you discounts; if you’re part of our Clubs, you can activate an eSIM utterly free of charge! Here’s a detailed look at the type of eSIM you can activate at no additional cost, depending on your Club membership.
Bronze: 1GB plan (7 days) free;
Silver: 1GB plan (7 days) free;
Gold: 3GB plan (30 days) free;
Platinum: 5GB plan (30 days) free.
How to apply the code?
First of all, join a Club or upgrade to the most advantageous one using the Young Platform app.
Go to the Saily website.
Select the country where you want to browse andthe data plan that best suits your needs. NB: The promo code will only apply correctly if you select the exact plan offered as a gift. So, if you need more GB, make two separate purchases to add more GB on top of those provided.
Click on “Proceed to Payment.”
Click on “Have a promo code?”
Enter the code received via email.
Check that the code has been accepted. By entering the promo code, no payment will be requested, and the purchase will be automatically completed.
The promo codes have no expiration date. However, once the code is redeemed during the eSIM purchase process, you have 30 days to activate it.
Additionally, the purchase will be visible on your account through the Saily app. Simply log in with the same account you used during the purchase.
For any questions or concerns, you can refer to their official website: support.saily.com
Learn about Avon’s bankruptcy due to talcum powder lawsuits and the parallels with Johnson & Johnson’s legal challenges. How will these companies navigate the crisis?
The beauty industry, once synonymous with innovation and prosperity, is currently grappling with one of its most significant challenges. A striking example of this turmoil is Avon’s recent bankruptcy filing, a dramatic turn of events signalling deep-rooted issues within the sector. In mid-August 2024, Avon officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. This marked the culmination of years of financial and legal struggles primarily linked to asbestos-contaminated talcum powder lawsuits.
The Avon Bankruptcy
Avon’s decision to file for bankruptcy directly responds to the overwhelming legal pressure from 386 ongoing lawsuits. These cases allege that the company’s talcum powder products were contaminated with asbestos, a known carcinogen, leading to serious health concerns, including cancer. Despite Avon’s consistent denial of asbestos presence in their products, the company has faced significant financial setbacks due to adverse legal judgments.
One of the most severe blows came in 2020 when Avon was ordered to pay $46 million in damages. More recently, in July 2024, another hefty compensation of $24.5 million was imposed, further depleting the company’s already strained financial reserves. These mounting legal costs have left Avon with no viable option but to seek bankruptcy protection to manage its debts and restructure its business.
Parallels with Johnson & Johnson
Avon’s situation resembles the legal challenges faced by another industry giant, Johnson & Johnson (J&J). J&J has also been embroiled in lawsuits over asbestos-contaminated talcum powder, leading to thousands of claims and substantial financial penalties. However, J&J’s response to the crisis has notably differed due to its significant financial resources.
Like Avon, J&J strategically filed for bankruptcy for one of its subsidiaries, a manoeuvre designed to consolidate and manage the numerous lawsuits while working on debt restructuring. This “strategic bankruptcy” allows J&J to freeze ongoing litigation and focus on negotiating settlements, thereby limiting further financial damage.
However, despite the similarities, the two cases differ significantly in their potential outcomes. J&J’s global presence and robust financial standing have enabled it to withstand the legal onslaught. At the same time, Avon was weakened by years of decline and a tarnished brand image. J&J’s diversified portfolio and vast resources have provided a buffer against the crisis, a luxury Avon lacks.
The Fall of a Giant
For Avon, bankruptcy is the last resort after a series of challenges that have eroded its prestige and financial stability. The company has already paid out $225 million in settlements, yet the legal battles continue, straining its liquidity and threatening its survival after more than a century in the cosmetics industry.
Avon’s bankruptcy raises critical questions about its future and the beauty industry. The sector has become increasingly competitive, with new brands capturing the attention of more demanding and informedconsumers than ever before. In this evolving market, sustainability, transparency, and innovation are crucial for survival, leaving little room for companies that cannot adapt swiftly to changing dynamics.
One potential lifeline for the industry could lie in blockchain technology, which promises enhanced transparency and traceability. With consumers increasingly favouring brands that can provide a “digital identity” for their products, detailing every ingredient’s origin and processing, blockchain could solve the challenges companies like Avon’s face.
Conclusion
While Johnson & Johnson may weather the storm due to its financial strength and crisis management capabilities, Avon’s future remains uncertain. The company’s bankruptcy could either signal the end of an era or catalyse a radical restructuring that might lead to a resurgence. Only time will tell whether Avon can rise from the ashes or become another example of how even industry giants can fall.
Discover how blockchain technology transforms the beauty industry by offering unprecedented transparency and traceability. Explore our industry insights on Young Platform.
Cryptocurrencies are not the future but the present. Here are the major companies that accept Bitcoin payments.
Mass adoption? It’s getting closer and closer. Don’t just take our word for it; just look at how many companies, multinationals, and simple shops are gearing up to accept cryptocurrency payments. Even though many countries still do not fully regulate them, the crypto phenomenon is too big to be ignored. That’s why companies are keen to innovate and push for the spread of crypto payments. And it’s not just about specific niches, but very popular brands and services that are part of our daily lives.
Here is a list of ten companies that accept Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as a method of payment.
Mastercard
Mastercard has been allowing cryptocurrency payments through its platform for some time now, thanks to collaborations with major players such as Metamask and MoonPay. The company has recognised the usefulness of crypto as real currency. “With the interest [in crypto] coming from various sectors, the real-world applications of cryptocurrencies are surpassing pure speculation,” said Rama Sidhar, vice president for New Digital Payments at Mastercard. During the last months of 2022, the leading payment network company partnered with eight Web3 startups to make crypto more accessible. Among them is the mobile banking app Hi, with which it will launch the first customisable debit card featuring personal NFTs.
Mastercard has added 7 startups to its crypto accelerator aimed at making crypto more accessible: pic.twitter.com/zd7hkcu0CD
Mastercard’s competitor has also dedicated its energies to cryptocurrency projects in recent years. Since 2020, Visa has been collaborating with various exchanges to offer users the ability to pay in Bitcoin and other cryptos via Visa-enabled debit cards.
Gucci
Dream of buying luxury clothing with your satoshis? At Gucci’s US stores, since August 2022, it’s possible to pay in various cryptos. Specifically, they accept Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, ApeCoin (the Bored Apes Yacht Club token), and five stablecoins.
Microsoft
Microsoft, which has accepted Bitcoin payments since 2014, is among the early adopters of blockchain technology. The cryptocurrency can be used for Microsoft services like Skype or Xbox Live.
Tesla
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, was among the first entrepreneurs to show interest in Bitcoin. For a while, it was possible to buy electric cars using crypto. Then he changed his mind, temporarily halting Bitcoin payments until mining operations are completely powered by renewable sources.
Despite this, buying some Tesla accessories in Dogecoin (DOGE) is still possible.
Amazon
Although paying directly with crypto on the world’s largest e-commerce platform is currently impossible, Amazon is seeking blockchain experts to join its team. Will we see this new feature soon? We can still shop with crypto through various debit cards or convert our cryptocurrencies into Amazon vouchers through third-party sites. Handy, isn’t it?
PayPal
The payment giant introduced the ability to buy, sell, and hold some cryptocurrencies directly from its app in 2021. However, the feature remained exclusive to US users. In December 2022, there was a breakthrough: the announcement of a partnership between PayPal and Metamask. Thanks to this collaboration, it will be possible to log into your dedicated PayPal area with your Metamask wallet and buy crypto directly from your PayPal account in one step.
Twitch
Twitch, the world’s most used streaming platform, also accepts Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for donations and subscriptions. You can support your favourite creators monthly through subscriptions or subs, paying with various cryptos, from Bitcoin to Ethereum, Dogecoin to Litecoin.
McDonald’s
You can buy your Crispy McBacon with Bitcoin and the stablecoin Tether (USDT) at McDonald’s in Lugano. These payments are part of the “Plan B” initiative, which involved the capital of the Ticino canton in October 2022. This project aims to increase the adoption of cryptocurrency in the Swiss city. Payments at McDonald’s in Lugano are processed on Bitcoin’s Layer-2 blockchain, the Lightning Network.
Starbucks
We close the list of 10 companies that allow Bitcoin payments as we would end a meal – with a good coffee, paid strictly in crypto. At American Starbuckscafes, you can buy espressos and frappuccinos in cryptocurrencies directly from the app, thanks to the partnership with Bakkt.
Stores where you can pay with Bitcoin
The companies on this list are not the only ones accepting Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as payment methods, but they are probably the best known globally. Year after year, many other businesses of various sizes and operating in the most diverse sectors have adopted crypto.
Among these are physical stores located in crypto-friendly countries. Some practical examples? Certain Burger King stores in Venezuela, the US teams Miami Dolphins and Dallas Mavericks, and Coca-Cola vending machines in Australia and New Zealand.
Artificial intelligence is also conquering the Web3. What is crypto AI, and what innovations will it introduce?
The fusion of blockchain technology and artificial intelligence is now much more than a trend, primarily since the launch of Chat GPT and other similar services, i.e. since its potential was understood. Less than two years later, many of us use these types of services daily, even if there is a feeling that the current scenario is only the tip of the iceberg.
AI and cryptocurrencies will most likely become increasingly part of our lives. But can these two technologies work together, and, more importantly, why should they?
Artificial intelligence has been the keytechnology of the past two years, and cryptocurrencies and blockchain achieved supremacy, at least in part, during the bull run 2021. The big difference in adoption between these two technologies concerns the user experience, as the currently available examples of AI models are easier to use than blockchain protocols and decentralised applications. However, huge strides have been made in this regard in recent years.
However, the two key technologies of this decade can collaborate, and the crypto AI protocols that have emerged in recent months offer valuable support for this thesis. The convergence of blockchain and artificial intelligence became mainstream when ChatGPT was released. OpenAI’s chatbot was designed to interact with users like in a normal chat conversation with which everyone is familiar. On the other hand, the final consecration came in recent months after the staggering performance of Nvidia’s stock, which was, albeit briefly, the world’s largest company.
Since then, many crypto AI projects have sprung up, while existing ones have attracted attention. Moreover, some key protocols have intercepted and exploited the situation by reorganising and modifying their vision in a manner consistent with the needs of this new market segment. For instance, Filecoin has ridden the hype wave on artificial intelligence by offering itself as a storage service provider for emerging AI companies. Or Near, which is harnessing its large roster of developers to create decentralised, self-modifying AI based on user behaviour.
In short, these technologies can coexist; indeed, it is likely that they will. According to Alexander Good, author and respected Key Opinion Leader (KOL), the capitalisation of crypto AI could reach $2 trillion in the next few years, while Grayscale, the world’s largest crypto investment fund, has just launched its exclusive financial product for this sub-sector.
Decentralised AI models: what problems do they solve?
We can start with a technical assumption to answer the question posed in the subtitle, but don’t worry, nothing too complex. Blockchain and AI models feed off the same power source: computing power. In the same way that miners use powerful machines made up of video cards (GPUs) connected in series, the same computing power is used to train artificial intelligence models to make them increasingly accurate and thus useful. In this sense, crypto AI projects such as Render (RNDR) or Bittensor (TAO) deal with tokenising computing power that can then be exchanged and used by network users. Thanks to this possibility, AI models can become more accessible and decentralised. The immense power of artificial intelligence is, today, concentrated in the hands of large and prosperous companies that own the supercomputers needed to ‘run’ them.
The decentralisation discourse also applies to data indexing, i.e., the process of organising and returning data to users that ‘Chat GPT-style’ chatbots and search engines constantly perform. For instance, a protocol such as The Graph takes on-chain data and organises it, making it readable to users, all decentralised. It also uses Semiotic AI to automate searches within its data containers.
Let us now take a look at the main three objectives of the crypto AI segment and the projects related to them:
Building decentralised artificial intelligence services and facilitating user access: In this respect, the main project to watch out for is the Bittensor (TAO) mentioned above, a centralised machine learning platform with more than 90,000 users. Through Bittensor, particularly its sub-networks, it is possible to generate texts, translations, and images that are very precise regarding the prompts you enter. In short, it is a fully decentralised GPT Chat with an internal economy that rewards users who secure it and those who use it.
Solving the main problems encountered by AI platforms, such as the authenticity of information and deep fakes (fictitious videos or photos in which the image of a public figure appears). In this sense, crypto AI projects can exploit the key features of blockchain technology, particularly its decentralised nature, transparency, and immutability, to protect users from these threats.
Managing the infrastructure networks and resources required for technology development, particularly storage and GPU computing power. In this sense, the projects that stand out are Filecoin (FIL) and Render (RNDR). As already mentioned, the former allows users to store data through a centralised peer-to-peer cloud-based architecture. This is a perfect solution for emerging artificial intelligence companies.
Render, on the other hand, thanks to its decentralised marketplace for graphics rendering, allows anyone who wants to access the service, whether designers or artificial intelligence models, to do so without having to buy expensive equipment.
Crypto AI: our thematic Moneybox
Now that you know all the main applications of crypto AI and the problems they solve, you just have to discover our new ‘Artificial Intelligence’ Moneybox. We, like Grayscale, intend to enable our clients to gain exposure to this promising sector.
Our Crypto AI cocktail consists of three delicious ingredients: Render (RNDR), The Graph (GRT) and Near (NEAR).
Young Platform’s crypto Moneybox is a separate wallet from the one you normally use to store your cryptocurrencies. It is used to set aside your favourite cryptocurrencies for the long term, avoiding spending them on everyday or frequent transactions. Of course, you also have the option to ‘put your own spin on it’ by creating a Customised Moneybox and choosing up to five cryptos to include and the percentage to distribute on each.
If you want to learn about this functionality, you can consult the guide about Moneyboxes functionality.
Biden has officially withdrawn from the US presidential election race. What happens now? What impact has the news had on the market?
This week started with a very important piece of news: Joe Biden, the current president of the United States, has announced that he will not runin the nextUS elections. According to him, he will “focus on finishing the current term as best he can.”
The diplomatic tones of the announcement are not enough to hide the truth. Joe Biden is retiring because of bad public appearances in recent years and strong pressure from the Democratic Party, which considers him no longer up to the electoral battle due to health problems. Read more in the article.
Biden resigns: Kamala Harris in his place?
“Biden launches Kamala Harris” headlined the New York Times after the news, also given the post on X (formerly Twitter) immediately following the withdrawal letter in which the president announced his full support for his deputy. The announcement came during the day yesterday, shortly after two o’clock in the afternoon, in American time (East Coast time).
It must be specified, however, that Biden did not resign as President of the United States, an action that would have made life much easier for Harris. Had it gone this way, the transition of the leading Dem in the US elections would have been much easier. The main problem with this is that Biden won the primaries and, therefore, there are delegates associated with his name who should have confirmed his nomination as the nominee at the Democratic convention in Chicago. As he did, Biden can only suggest, not dictate, that these vote for Kamala Harris. The fear of an ‘open’ convention, i.e., multiple candidates vying for the vote not of the voters but of the delegates indicated by the primaries in the past months, has been at the centre of much political analysis in recent weeks.
Predictably, after Biden’s announcement, the candidates’ odds of winning also changed. Before the announcement, the poll by Polymarket, the most popular decentralised prediction app, gave Trump a 71% win and Biden a 16% win. However, Donald Trump’s odds of winning have dropped to 64%, and Kamala Harris’s are at 30%.
A short while ago, we witnessed the opening of the US stock market, which performed very well in the first few minutes of trading after Biden’s departure. The NASDAQ 100, the index that tracks the performance of the hundred most capitalised technology companies, recorded +1.56%, and the S&P 500, +1%. However, the impact of Biden’s withdrawal onBitcoinwas visible from the minutes immediately following the announcement. BTC returned above $68,000, if only for a few hours.
What will happen in the crypto world if Trump wins the November election? In recent months, the entrepreneur and former president has been increasingly pro-crypto. After several pro-BTC statements, the most important news concerns his presence at Bitcoin 2024, the world’s largest conference dedicated to the crypto world scheduled for 22-25 July in Nashville.
However, there is more; a Trump re-election could also cause an injection of liquidity in the ‘traditional’ markets, especially the stock market. His first term was already characterised by expansionary economic policies aimed at stimulating the economy, which could be applied again, given the recent slowdown in inflation. Will his very likely victory in the November 2024 elections signal the start of the most explosive bull run ever?
Let’s summarise the Q2 2024 YNG token report. What happened in this news-packed quarter? What are the following steps to be taken?
What happened in the last quarter? What were all the targets achieved in Q2 2024? How many tokens were issued, bought and sold, and what are the next steps? A complete overview in this report, compiled in July 2024.
The numbers of Young Platform Clubs in Q1 2024
YNG is Young Platform’s utility token, which grants access to Clubs the subscription plans that offer exclusive benefits dedicated to our biggest supporters.
The clubs currently consist of 1,699 people, divided into:
1256 for the Bronze Club
195 for the Silver Club
123 for the Gold Club
125 for the Platinum Club
To join a Club, a certain amount of YNG must be blocked on the Young Platform exchange. Therefore, the number of registered members is essential for analysing the distribution of the token, especially since the more people join a Club, the lower the selling pressure on YNG will be. The main consequence? A more stable price of YNG.
If we compare these figures with those of the past, Q2 2024 was flat from the point of view of Young Platform Club adoption. At the end of Q1 2024, there were 1,687 members, divided into:
1238 for the Bronze Club
199 for the Silver Club
122 for the Gold Club
128 for the Platinum Club
As a result, club membership has remained virtually the same, with a weak growth rate of around 0.7%. However, given the market performance of the past months, we can be quite optimistic for the near future. Despite the general bearish movement, which, as anticipated, also affected YNG, the number of members in the Clubs has, albeit slightly, grown.
Distribution of the YNG token
The number of YNG in circulation in April was about 23.5 million. The circulating supply in July was about 23.6 million, meaning a net increase of about 78,449 tokens or 0.33%.
These tokens were distributed via the Young Platform Step app in different ways:
19,473 through the completion of Quizzes, Challenges and Up&Down (before the implementation of the levels).
58,975 through the completion of the Levels.
The YNG token market is managed via an algorithm defining the exchange rate through two underlying liquidity pools, EUR and YNG. At launch in May 2022, these pools contained:
1 million
4 million YNG
Considering the sales and purchases of tokens handled in recent months, as of July 2024, the pools contain:
669,000 Euro
6.32 million YNG
This configuration is the result of purchases and sales during the third quarter, summarised below together with the price trend:
YNG’s emissions in 2023
What happened during the second quarter of 2024 from the point of view of tokenomics? How the token is issued changed last year after the 3.0 Step update. Now that a bit of history is available let us see how the introduction of XPs aimed at limiting YNG inflation has affected it.
As can be seen from the graph, thanks to the latest Step update, we were able to severely limit thedistribution of YNG. The issuance of new tokens was reduced by 95%, and a reduction in active users also caused this effect.
The price of YNG
In terms of price action, the second quarter of 2024 was in line with the crypto market’s performance.
The YNG token in the first quarter of 2024, also thanks to the launch of the new Smart Trades feature, rose from the €0.10 level to the €0.13 level. In the following months, however, thanks to the retracement of most cryptocurrencies on the market, it returned to support in the €0.10 area. However, from the beginning of July onwards, it seems to have regained some strength.
The main catalyst that could bring YNG back to the vicinity of the resistance that rejected it during April is the launch of the decentralised market, scheduled for the coming months. The following paragraphs provide all the details on this issue.
Targets achieved in the second quarter of 2024
During Q2 2024, we mainly focused on taxation, mainly because the deadline for declaring cryptocurrencies was 30 June 2024. In addition, we carried out all the necessary activities to comply with the European crypto regulation, Market in Crypto Assets (MiCA), which partially came into force at the end of June. This report is an excellent excuse to summarise the work done over the last three months. Let’s look in detail first at all the steps taken in 2024 to increase the attractiveness of our YNG token.
The Fees and Reports Functionality
The central topic of Q2 2024 was the crypto declaration. Compared to previous years, mainly due to the Agenzia delle Entrate, circular 30E and the Italian Legge di Bilancio for 2023, the obligation to declare one’s crypto was explicitly highlighted. Mainly due to two issues, as the documents mentioned above state:
Meet regulatory requirements for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
Determine the taxes due based on the potential income generated.
How did we enable our users to comply with the latest regulations as easily and intuitively as possible? Above all, how have we tried to make ourYNGtokenmorecentral, also regarding this issue?
The flagship feature, revamped from 2023, is the Tax Report. This time, however, it has been placed within a larger section, which we have decided to call ‘Taxes and Reports‘, built to become the only medicine needed against the declaration ‘headache’, and consists of these services:
The Young Platform Tax Report was updated for the 2024 declaration – valid for the income declaration in Italy.
The Tax Report Integrated with Okipo (exchange, wallet and third blockchain) – valid for the declaration of income in Italy.
The Young Platform Transaction Report
Stamp duty
The consultancy service with our accountants – valid service for the declaration of income in Italy.
To ensure the best possible experience for members of the Young Platform Clubs, populated by our most loyal supporters, we applied graduated discounts for each service in the ‘Fees & Reports’ section.
The following discounts have been applied to the Tax Report, consisting of a practical PDF with a clear and simple outline of all the cryptos you own and the data you need to fill in your tax return, including the facsimiles of Form RW and Form RT, compared to the starting price of €29
Club Bronze: 10%.
Club Silver: 20%.
Club Gold: 40%.
Platinum Club: 80%.
The same percentages were also applied to Okipo’s Integrated Report. This document is designed for Young Platform users who also use other exchanges, own NFTs, have cryptocurrencies on DeFi platforms or simply store their crypto-assets on wallets outside of Young Platform:
Club Bronze: €54 (instead of €229 per fiscal year).
Club Silver: €49 (instead of €229 per fiscal year).
Club Gold: €44 (instead of €229 per fiscal year).
Platinum Club: €39 (instead of €229 per fiscal year).
Listing of the Young Token (YNG)
Some of the most interesting news, as far as the last quarter is concerned, concerns our YNG token. In contrast to what we wrote in the previous report, where we assumed that we would start trading on decentralised exchanges by the end of the third quarter of 2024, the set-up has changed slightly.
First of all, we have decided to place this activity within the evolution process of our products, the main points of which you will find at the end of this Report. In addition, we intend to include, before the opening of the Liquidity Pools, two sales phases (one private and one public). There are three main reasons for this decision:
strengthen YNG’s liquidity;
increase the budget to support the project (to be allocated mainly to development and marketing in order to achieve the ambitious internal goals we have set ourselves);
maximize interest around the event: in this way, we expect to be able to reach a wider audience of crypto users who are active in the decentralised market but are not yet familiar with our ecosystem.
In any case, the work that will allow us to expand into the decentralised market has officially begun, after the company’s management approved the operational plan. This foresees YNG landing on the decentralised exchange (DEX) by the end of 2024.
In addition, we have started to dialogue with several decentralised blockchain protocols, specifically some Layer 2s of Ethereum. This activity has several objectives. First of all, it aims to identify the ecosystem that best matches our principlesand values since we want to open the pools on at least one other blockchain besides Ethereum, where the deployment of YNG took place. We also need to define, together with the stakeholders, the incentive programme for those who will use our token.
In the first few days after the ‘green light’, we worked on the necessary documentation to tackle the next steps, which we will present to the Platinum Channel members of our Discord server in the coming weeks. If you are a club member but are not yet in the dedicated channel, join and check your mail. You should have received a form!
As already mentioned, work on the ‘token project’ is being carried out in a manner consistent with that on the corporate roadmap, as we intend to make YNG increasingly central within our ecosystem. As was already the case with the Smart Trades feature, in fact, each new feature will introduce new benefits for club members, incentivising users who are not members to join.
Discord Leaderboard
The first round of prizes for Discord users is on its way! These days, we are collecting all the necessary data to send out the prizes at the beginning of September.
If you are registered on Young Platform, you should have received a notice about it. For those who don’t know what it is, it is the Young Platform community’s common space where you can exchange opinions and thoughts about your journey in the crypto world.
OK, but what is the communication for? Within the server, there is a leaderboard in which members are ranked according to the XP (experience points) they have earned through their activity. In order to reward the most active members, however, we need to link their username to their Young Platform account. If you are not yet part of this exciting group, you have to join! After all, an adventure becomes much more exciting when shared.
Now ‘comes the good stuff’ and even some spoilers.
As anticipated, during the second quarter of 2024, we focused a lot on the fiscal and regulatory aspects of our industry, given the various deadlines that were looming. At the same time, however, we were also able to plan for the future, setting new and ambitious goals for the coming ones. Check out the main ones.
Staking, we’re almost there!
At the end of June, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the body that regulates financial markets and instruments for the European Union, commented on this issue by publishing a Q&A on its official website. One of the questions in the document concerned staking, specifically whether or not MiCA prohibits such activity. ESMA’s answer was quite clear: MICA does not prohibit staking and does not assume that a licence is required to offer it, provided that those providing the service, the so-called crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), act in a manner compliant with the regulations and are liable to their clients for any loss of crypto-assets attributable to them.
For this reason, we immediately set to work on integrating this service along with the ever-present benefits for our Club members, due out by the end of Q3 2024.
As many of you may have noticed, we are gathering your feedback and opinions through a form and one-to-one interviews to decide our next big innovation. Your ideas are crucial in shaping our future.
We have something special in the works, a project that has been part of our plans for a long time. Recently, we decided to take it up again, thanks to new opportunities that allow us to think big.
Imagine a novelty that allows you to combine the best of traditional and digital worlds, a feature that does not merely offer a simple tool but aims to transform your daily experience into something revolutionary. We want to differentiate ourselves from our competitors and create something unique, not just an accessory but a valid extension of our ecosystem.
We aim to launch this novelty by the end of the first quarter 2025. We are working on various ideas to reward our Club members and further enhance the YNG token, perhaps with incentives to increase your engagement and rewards.
Young Platform updates the Smart Trades functionality to ensure a trading environment that is compliant with MiCA regulations.
The company has decided to modify the pairs in the Smart Trades functionality, migrating from the crypto-USDT pair to the crypto-USDC pair.
With this update, we aim to inform our users about the strategic decisions taken by Young Platform following the entry into force of European Regulation No. 2023/1114 of 31 May 2023 concerning Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCA), effective from 30 June 2024.
These decisions reflect the need to comply with the Italian government’s recent approval of the Legislative Decree of 25 June 2024. This decree aims to align the national regulatory framework with the provisions of the MiCA Regulation and ensure coordination with existing regulations in Italy, particularly the Consolidated Banking Act (TUB) and the Consolidated Finance Act (TUF).
8 July 2024: new Smart Trades strategies with Crypto-USDC pair
Starting on 8 July 2024, Young Platform will implement a significant change in the Smart Trades strategies offered to users, utilising the crypto-USDC pair. Therefore, from 8 July to 15 July, adding new funds to strategies already active or created during this timeframe will not be possible.
This strategic decision is to comply with the MiCA Regulation, which promotes security and transparency in the cryptocurrency sector.
USDC’s adoption as the reference stablecoin in the new Smart Trades strategies is motivated by its growing adoption and complete adherence to the regulatory requirements of the MiCA Regulation. USDC is widely recognised for its stability and regulatory compliance, making it an ideal choice for users seeking safety and reliability in their trading operations.
Young Platform has always placed great emphasis on compliance and protecting the interests of its users. This new implementation represents a further step forward in ensuring a secure, transparent, and compliant trading environment. Our platform continues to evolve to meet the needs of a constantly changing market, offering innovative and regulatory-compliant solutions.
15 July 2024: conversion of USDT to USDC in active Smart Trades
Starting from 15 July 2024, Young Platform will convert all USDT to USDC in Smart Trades strategies activated before 8 July 2024 for free. The user will not incur any fees for this conversion.
This initiative is part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring compliance with regulations and providing an efficient and advantageous service for users. The free conversion eliminates additional costs for the user, facilitating the transition to a compliant and consolidated stablecoin like USDC.
USDT, PAX Gold, and DAI will not be delisted
Young Platform does not plan to delist USDT, PAX Gold, and DAI until further notice. We are actively collaborating with the foundations of these stablecoins to support their compliance with the MiCA Regulation. By the end of July, we will provide updates on the availability of these currencies on our platform.
Moreover, we will closely monitor any regulatory updates or communications from the stablecoin issuers and promptly inform users of relevant news.
Conclusion
Young Platform remains firmly committed to ensuring a safe, compliant, and advantageous trading environment for all users. The new Smart Trades strategies with the crypto-USDC pair and the free conversion of USDT to USDC are concrete steps towards regulatory compliance and protecting users’ interests. We thank everyone for their understanding and cooperation during this transition phase.
