Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Federal Reserve Official Calls Tether A 'Challenge' To Financial Stability

Eric Rosengren, a senior official in the U.S. Federal Reserve identified Tethers stablecoin, USDT, as a risk to the stability of the current monetary system.　　According to Rosengren, Tether poses a perceived “challenge” to financial stability, and has been listed in a watchlist by the U.S. central bank. The listing of the USDT stablecoin is aimed at identifying “new disruptors” to short-term credit markets, a key sector for the U.S. monetary system. Rosengren currently serves as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.　　“I do think we need to think more broadly about what could disrupt short term credit markets over time, and certainly stablecoins are one element,” Rosengren stated. “I do worry that the stablecoin market that is currently, [pretty] much unregulated as it grows and becomes a more important sector of our economy, that we need to take seriously what happens when people run from these [types] of instruments very quickly.” the official explains.　　A graph from crypto analyst Mr. Whales CryptoWhale blog shows that the Federal Reserve identifies three major challenges to financial stability.　　Rosengren claims that Tether and other stablecoins appeared to be “a portfolio of a prime money market fund but maybe riskier.” Rosengren also observes that Tether

2021-06-28Deep Dive

Mexican Bank, Banco Azteca Working to be the First Bank in Mexico to Accept Bitcoin

Ricardo Salinas, one of the richest men in Mexico is bullish on Bitcoin (BTC). His conviction that Bitcoin is a viable store of asset and a superior alternative to fiat currencies has stirred his resolve to work to make his bank, Banco Azteca the first to accept Bitcoin in Mexico. Salinas made this revelation on Twitter in response to his past comments on Bitcoin shared by the duo of Anthony Pompliano and MicroStrategy CEO, Michael Saylor.　　Per the translated version of the comments shared in an interview, Salinas noted that he has invested a lot of time in studying Bitcoin, and recommends that it is an asset every investor should have in his portfolio.　　“It is an asset that has international value, that is traded with an enormous liquidity on a global level, and that is enough reason to be part of every portfolio, period,” he said.　　Bitcoin is a vital asset for a growing number of corporate investors, partly because of its 21 million finite supply. This coded feature according to Salinas makes Bitcoin superior to fiat currencies which he calls a “Fraud.” Salinas chose Bitcoin when asked what asset he can HODL for about 30 years.　　The Push for Banco Azteca　　Based on

2021-06-28Deep Dive

Israel and Palestine Are Exploring Digital Currencies

Palestine and Israel may be no closer to peace, but the two states have at least one thing in common: they are both looking into digital currencies.　　Bloomberg reported on Thursday that the Palestinian Monetary Authority has launched two studies into the feasibility of a Palestinian digital currency.　　Palestines digital currency would reduce its dependence on the Israeli shekel, on which it has relied since signing the 1994 Paris Protocol on Economic Relations with Israel.　　As part of the deal, Palestine agreed not to issue its own currency. The Protocol was meant to last for five years, and was signed with the impression that the states would move toward a two-state solution.　　Almost three decades later, little has progressed in the talks. A large stretch of Palestine is under military blockade, and the Palestinian economy still relies on the Israeli shekel, the US dollar and the Jordanian dinar.　　State-backed digital currencies, also known as central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) , do not necessarily rely on blockchain, but may take inspiration from the distributed ledger technology it popularized.　　Raja Khalidi, the director of the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute, told Bloomberg that “the macroeconomic conditions dont exist to allow a Palestinian currency—digital or otherwise—to exist as a

2021-06-28Deep Dive

Hype is over: How NFTs and art will benefit from each other moving forward

Due to the past nonfungible token (NFT) boom, the crypto and art communities have been collaborating closely — maybe for the first time in history. In both industries, there is a lot of skepticism and misunderstanding. As we make our way out of the NFT bubble, what is expected to come next？ This deep dive describes a long-term vision of the NFT and art market development that could appeal to both worlds.　　Stereotypically, crypto people discuss deals on Twitter and Discord, communicate through memes or abbreviations and challenge old school models with agonistic antipathy (Okay, Boomers!). In contrast, the so-called “art people” are at times conservative, stick to their roots and history, meet for a late lunch at Ladurée and discuss deals in an Art Basel VIP lounge during private presales. Those communities respective cultures are on the opposite side of the spectrum. That is the reason why some of the narratives about blockchain-enabled art (you can call it NFTs) are simply wrong.　　 The “eliminate intermediaries” paradigm doesnt work for art　　Crypto narratives have always underlined the aim to eliminate all the intermediaries, building a more transparent, straightforward and optimized communication between buyers and sellers. In the art industry, however, those intermediaries

2021-06-28Deep Dive

Volcano Mining And President Bukele ’s Bitcoin Insights

As El Salvador prepares for the Bitcoin law to come into force, Bitcoinist keeps analyzing President Bukele ‘s words. And he keeps using the right ones, “The Bitcoin system is so perfect, that I think it’s going to be the future. It‘s the present, but it’s going to get bigger in the future.” That was one of the reasons that inspired the decision to declare Bitcoin Legal Tender. Other more practical ones are:　　“Receiving remittances at the speed of light and having almost no cost, like you would have with Western Union and those types of systems. Having financial inclusion to 70% of the people that don‘t own bank accounts. Having a lot of investment in tourism, that will come of this. And, not becoming independent because we’re not. But at least becoming a little less dependent on the output of new Dollars and the inflation thats coming with those new Dollars.”　　The US Dollar is legal tender in El Salvador, and the rampant money printing affects them greatly. And their country doesnt receive any of the artificial benefits, because the newly printed money is not for them. Hence, Bitcoin.　　“We think its the future. So why not going for the future and

2021-06-28Deep Dive

Solana: How a unique consensus design powers the 65,000 tps, developer-friendly blockchain

A key focus for blockchain developers and innovators are blockchains that is fast and cheap for developers to build decentralized apps (dApps) on. Solana has emerged as a top contender for such a blockchain in recent times, but what really goes inside it？　　Solana uses a new consensus system　　The consensus system for Solana is built off two main innovations: Proof of History and Tower BFT. Proof of History is focused on the issue of “agreement on time.”　　In a trustless situation like a blockchain, “nodes in the network cant trust an external source of time or any timestamp that appears in a message.” Solana uses a different model and works on proving that a certain message occurred before and after other events. This system allows Solana to order messages without needing a timestamp.　　Proof of History is a Verifiable Delay Function where a sequential hash functions states are recorded to represent the passage of time.　　A new message can refer to a specific recorded state to prove that it happened after that and can be added to the Sha256 loop to be hashed with the state to prove that it happened before the next recorded state.　　Built on top of Proof of History, is a

2021-06-28Deep Dive

UK Financial Watchdog Clamps Down On World’s Largest Crypto Exchange, Binance

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has directed Binance to terminate all regulated operations in UK　　The decision comes due to the absence of authorisation held by the crypto exchange platform　　Consumer warnings have also been issued by the regulating body　　No Authorisation Held By Binance Group in UK　　Britains Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has ordered cryptocurrency exchange platform Binance to forestall all regulated operations within the country. The justification behind such strict measures comes from the lack of authorization held by the company. As per the statement made by the financial regulator on Saturday, the platform can no longer be allowed to adopt any regulated functions without the prior written consent of the FCA.　　The report also highlighted that no entity within the Binance Group holds any form of UK authorization, registration or license to pursue any regulated operations in the country. These orders come in the wake of Binance facing scrutiny from regulators belonging to other countries like Germany and the United States.　　Cryptocurrency Exchange Platform Faces Strict Inspection　　Binance is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchange platforms with the highest trading volumes. However, the platform is being monitored by various financial and legal bodies. According to a report published by Bloomberg in May, officials from

2021-06-28Deep Dive

Colombian capital supports blockchain and emerging tech with $2.3M fund

Blockchain development is one of four major programs in Bogotás new tech innovation fund.　　Colombia‘s capital of Bogotá is funding blockchain development as part of the city’s broader investment in innovative technologies.　　According to a Monday announcement on the city of Bogotá‘s official website, the municipal government will provide 8.8 billion Colombian pesos ($2.3 million) to local companies as part of four new programs in the city’s Innovation, Technology and Creative Industries Fund, or FITIC.　　The new funding includes a contribution of of 2.8 billion pesos, ($739,000) to the development of local blockchain startups through a program called “Hub Blockchain Bogotá.” The project aims to support 100 blockchain-focused companies in order to boost their competitiveness on the global market and provide tech advice for implementing blockchain within participating companies.　　The new innovation funding campaign is organized with support from the Superior Mayor of Bogotá, the District Secretariat for Economic Development, Jorge Tadeo Lozano University, state entrepreneurship body Innpulsa, and Singapore-based blockchain accelerator Tribe Accelerator.　　Related: Colombias oldest commercial bank pilots crypto services　　Bogotá Mayor Claudia Lopez took to Twitter on Monday to invite local businesses to apply for the program starting on June 25. “Each company will be able to receive from the FITIC from 10

2021-06-26Deep Dive

Athena confirms plans to bring 1500 Bitcoin ATMs to El Salvador

Accessing BTC is about to get a lot easier in El Salvador with the crypto ATM rollout.　　U.S. company Athena intends to supply El Salvadors new crypto-based economy with 1500 Bitcoin ATMs, a company representative has confirmed.　　The rollout will start small, trialing a few dozen machines to establish a business model. The Chicago headquartered firm plans to invest more than $1 million to install cryptocurrency ATMs, targeting regions where residents receive remittances from abroad.　　Along with installing the new machines it will also hire staff and open an office to carry out operations in El Salvador.　　Athena currently operates just two ATMs of this type in El Salvador, one at El Zonte beach as part of an experiment called “Bitcoin Beach” aimed at making the town one of the worlds first crypto economies, and the other in El Tunco, according to CNN.　　Athenas director for Latin America, Matias Goldenhörn, told Reuters that Salvadorian President Nayib Bukele had “presented us with a tough challenge of 1,500 ATMs, we will go for that, but in phases. We are a private company and we want to ensure that our development in the country is sustainable.”　　On June 17, Athena posted about its plans to expand in the country

2021-06-25Deep Dive

Bank Israel menguji shekel digital menggunakan Ethereum

Pada bulan Mei, Bank of Israel menerbitkan laporan yang meminta komentar orang ramai mengenai kemungkinan penerbitan shekel digital. Bank itu, yang mengatakan telah mempertimbangkan isu CBDC sejak tahun 2017, menulis bahawa ia belum memutuskan apakah ia ingin mengeluarkan shekel digital, tetapi mengingat perkembangan pesat dalam ekonomi digital dan pembayaran, dan di Memandangkan kerja bank pusat utama dalam isu ini, Bank of Israel mempercepat penyelidikan dan persiapannya untuk kemungkinan penerbitan shekel digital.　　Monica Singer, pemimpin Afrika Selatan untuk syarikat perisian blockchain Consensys, mengatakan kepada Forkast.News: “Banyak bank pusat yang menguji kemungkinan pelaksanaan CBDC melakukannya dalam ekosistem izin swasta, dan banyak dari mereka menggunakan Ethereum.” Ethereum adalah blockchain sumber terbuka yang terdesentralisasi dengan fungsi kontrak pintar.　　Konsep wang yang boleh diprogramkan adalah konsep yang paling penting, kata Singer. “Kontrak pintar akan membolehkan bank pusat menetapkan tahap transaksi CBDC di mana privasi akan dibenarkan dan melebihi jumlah tertentu maka privasi tidak boleh dibenarkan untuk mencegah pencucian wang, misalnya. Anda boleh memprogram agar cukai dibayar dalam masa nyata. Di negara-negara di mana perbendaharaan mencadangkan untuk mengagihkan geran sosial, dana pencen kerajaan atau pendapatan asas sejagat kepada warganya, ini akan dilakukan secara real time ke dompet warganegara. Tidak perlu cek atau berdiri di luar cawangan bank untuk

2021-06-25Deep Dive

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