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How blockchain technology can revolutionize international trade

How blockchain technology can revolutionize international trade

podľa | aug 1, 2022 | 0 |

Since time immemorial, technological innovations have shaped the structure of commerce and trade. The discovery of electricity encouraged mass production and the advent of steam engines ushered in an era of mechanized production. From information to communication, technology has been used everywhere to make life easier. For this reason, blockchain technology has been tapped by many as the next big thing, considering its use cases which cut across numerous industry verticles.Mainly used in keeping records of transactions, blockchain technology is a type of distributed ledger technology.Blockchain makes a differenceAccording to Statista, blockchain makes keeping data records easier, more transparent, and even more secure. Owing mostly to its resistance to alteration, blockchain offers time-based information on transactions, whether they are between private individuals, corporate entities, supplier networks or even an international supply chain.It is also a common notion that blockchain is only a technology for Bitcoin (BTC). However, that assumption could not be more wrong. While the technology emerged alongside Bitcoin in 2008, however, today, its use cases have evolved far beyond cryptocurrencies. From finance to e-commerce, food safety, voting exercises and supply-chain management, its applications cut across virtually all sectors of the global economy, including areas directly or indirectly linked to international trade. The value chain attached to international trade is a notably complex one. While its transactions involve multiple actors, its other aspects like trade financing, customs administration, transportation and logistics all benefit from the adoption of blockchain technology.According to Statista, cross-border payments and settlements account for the largest use cases of blockchain technology, especially considering how there have been numerous past efforts to digitize trade transactions.As of today, the potential of blockchain to enhance the efficiency of trade processes is already being explored. For instance, the blockchain project Open Food Chain is working to improve food security via its Komodo Smart Chain.Recent: Crypto contagion deters investors in near term, but fundamentals stay strongKadan Stadelmann, chief technology officer of Komodo — technology provider and open source workshop — told Cointelegraph:“Blockchain’s biggest advantage is immutability, meaning data can’t be deleted or edited after it’s on the ledger. For international trade, this provides an opportunity for more transparency across several major industries.”Stadelmann explained that the technology ensures that foods can be tracked from their origin (i.e., a farm in another country) to the consumer’s local supermarket. He says this can help improve food security around the globe by tackling issues like food contamination outbreaks as 600 million — almost 1 in 10 people in the world — fall ill after eating contaminated food and 420,000 die every year, according to the WHO. Blockchain can streamline the complex documentation processes that are prevalent in international trade. Zen Young, the CEO of noncustodial web authentication infrastructure Web3Auth, told Cointelegraph:“Digitizing documents for traditional clearance processes, and transactions in international trade can take up to 120 days to complete, but with bills of lading tracked through blockchain, the need for such processes and potential for double spending is eliminated.”“Transfer payments and transactions are also quicker and cheaper than currently possible through the SWIFT network, blockchain commissions are lower and without maximum limits, which is especially advantageous for exporting goods,” he said.A view of the stern of the Ever Ace, one of the world’s largest container ships. Source: Wolfgang FrickeFurthermore, Zen added that these factors will help fraud reduction through digitally verifiable and legally enforceable non-paper documentation.In another use case, IBM and Maersk are working on a blockchain-based solution to streamline the global shipping industry. The project, which is called TradeLens, is designed to digitize the entire shipping process on a blockchain.The ultimate goal is to create a more efficient and transparent supply chain that can speed up delivery times while reducing costs. So far, the project has been successful in onboarding over 150 organizations, including major port operators, shipping companies and logistics providers.According to IBM, TradeLens has processed over 150 million shipping events and has saved users an estimated 20% in documentation costs. In addition, the platform has reduced the time it takes to ship goods by 40%.As blockchain continues to gain traction in various industries, it is only a matter of time before its potential is fully realized in the world of international trade. With its ability to streamline processes and reduce costs, blockchain has the potential to revolutionize the way goods are traded around the world.Despite its promises, however, there are some weak points in blockchain tech’s application to international trade.Blockchain’s shortcomingsThe major disadvantage of using blockchain is the fact that it is often associated with high transaction costs. For example, when it comes to cross-border payments, blockchain technology has been known to be quite expensive.This is because blockchain transactions often involve multiple intermediaries, which can drive up costs. In addition, the time it takes to settle a blockchain transaction can be quite lengthy, which can also add to the overall cost.Another disadvantage of blockchain is its lack of scalability. Due to the fact that each block in a blockchain must be verified by all nodes on the network, the system can often become bogged down when handling large volumes of transactions.This can lead to delays in the processing of transactions, which can be a major issue in the world of international trade.Finally, according to Deloitte, blockchain technology is still in its early stages of development, which means that it is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. For example, there could always be the risk that a critical flaw could be discovered in the scalability and privacy framework that could pose an issue to the financial end of the operation.In addition, there is also the risk that bad actors could exploit vulnerabilities in the system in order to commit fraud or theft. These risks need to be carefully considered by those who are looking to use blockchain technology in the world of international trade.Recent: Ethereum Merge: How will the PoS transition impact the ETH ecosystem?Despite these disadvantages, it is important to note that blockchain technology is still in its early stages of development. As the technology matures, it is likely that many of these issues will be addressed and resolved.As more and more organizations begin to adopt blockchain technology, the overall cost of using the system is likely to decrease. This could make blockchain a more viable option for those who are looking to streamline their international trade operations.In the end, blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize the way goods are traded around the world. With its ability to streamline processes and reduce costs, blockchain has the potential to make international trade more efficient and transparent.

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Do Kwon shares LUNA burn address but warns 'LUNAtics' against using it

Do Kwon shares LUNA burn address but warns 'LUNAtics' against using it

podľa | máj 23, 2022 | 0 |

The recent Terra revival plan announced by Do Kwon, the co-founder and CEO of Terraform Labs, received mixed reactions as many questioned the effectiveness of a hard fork in reviving the fallen prices of LUNA and UST tokens. Instead, the part of the community recommended burning LUNA tokens as the most plausible way to achieve a comeback.Kwon’s proposal to preserve the Terra ecosystem involves hard forking the existing Terra blockchain without the algorithmic stablecoin and redistributing a new version of the LUNA tokens to investors based on a historical snapshot before the death spiral. However, several crypto entrepreneurs, including Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, opined that:“Reducing supply should be done via burn, not fork at an old date, and abandon everyone who tried to rescue the coin.”Upon a persistent request from the crypto community, Kwon went against his initial plan and publicly shared a burn address for LUNA on May 21. Every LUNA token sent to this address will be burned immediately, effectively reducing the circulating supply of LUNA tokens.To clarify, as I’ve noted multiple times i dont think sending tokens to this address to burn tokens is a good idea – nothing happens except that you lose your tokensWant there to be no confusion whatsoever https://t.co/GrzG9cclAr— Do Kwon (@stablekwon) May 23, 2022Two days after sharing the LUNA burn address, Kwon reiterated his point of view that reducing the circulating supply of LUNA tokens will have no impact on the market price, stating, “nothing happens except that you lose your tokens.”The Terra co-founder clarified that the burn address was shared with users only for information purposes and warned against using it:“Happy to provide for information purposes but want to clarify that you should not burn tokens unless you know what you are doing – I for one cannot understand.”However, the revelation resulted in more confusion among investors. As Cointelegraph previously reported, LUNA’s insane volatility serves as a lucrative opportunity for investors as many try to recoup their losses and others eye profitable trades.Kwon has previously confirmed that Terra is no longer minting new LUNA tokens, which is one of the main reasons why investors believe a burning mechanism will improve LUNA price owing to scarcity. Amid an unclear roadmap for a resolution, investors are advised to refrain from making abrupt financial decisions as the master plan for Terra revival continues to be under public scrutiny.Related: Near Protocol picks up slack, onboards Tracer following Terra’s downfallAs a direct consequence of Terra’s collapse, numerous projects sought to migrate to different blockchain ecosystems fighting for survival. Near Foundation, too, played its part by recently onboarding Tracer, a Web3 fitness and lifestyle app.Speaking to Cointelegraph, Near Foundation’s (NEAR) Nicky Chalabi highlighted that projects like Tracer seek alignment with the ecosystem’s core values and that:“Projects must watch the interests of their community and users because, in the end, that’s the most valuable thing you have.”Chalabi further advised Terra projects to migrate only after considering the interests of their users and communities, stating “That can actually define your success.”

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Blockchains are forever: DLT makes diamond industry more transparent

Blockchains are forever: DLT makes diamond industry more transparent

podľa | máj 13, 2022 | 0 |

Diamonds are some of the world’s most valued gemstones, and the global diamond industry has managed to remain afloat despite being partially eclipsed by the emergence of modern stocks and novel virtual assets.The diamond industry, however, appears to be undergoing a paradigm shift in recent times — incorporating modern technology such as blockchain to improve diamond production, tracking and ultimate sales. Leanne Kemp, CEO of independent technology company EverLedger, stressed the need for blockchain integration in the industry to improve the tracking of a stone’s provenance.Speaking on the issue of data manipulation concerning a diamond’s provenance four years ago, Kemp noted that “we see document tampering where one stone has been claimed across similar timelines with multiple insurers.”While it has yet to directly provide a solution to all the concerns of the diamond industry, blockchain is being used to solve a few of them by facilitating transparency that helps track the provenance of diamonds. This is primarily aimed at suppressing the sales of “conflict diamonds.” Diamond mining corporation De Beers Group has pointed out the potential of blockchain in the industry for increased accuracy, trust and transparency with regard to determining a diamond’s origin.The diamond industry maintains its distinctionDespite being impacted by the Great Recession of 2008, which saw the general stock market slump by an unprecedented margin, the diamond industry has managed to maintain its prominence notwithstanding a noticeable drop in global production of rough diamonds.The idea of integrating blockchain into the industry — which was only introduced in recent years — is likely to reawaken mainstream interest and further improve global production.The years leading to 2008 saw a steady increase in rough diamond production. According to data from German database company Statista, from 2005 to 2008, global production of rough diamonds never went below 160 million carats. Following the economic decline of 2008, however, the average production in the last decade has averaged 142 million carats with 116 million carats produced in 2021. The year 2017 saw the largest turnover in the decade, with 152 million carats of diamonds produced.About 99% of the global diamond mining process is carried out in nine countries with Russia, Botswana, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Australia and Canada respectively considered the top five countries involved. Diamond mining is almost monopolized, with companies such as ALROSA and De Beers controlling a large portion of the industry.Ethical concerns about the diamond industry aboundThere are a few reasons why investors do not seem to be flocking to the 68-billion-dollar enterprise that is the diamond industry, especially in recent times.Lucrative as it is, ethical concerns regarding the backbone of the diamond industry are prevalent. This has scared away potential investors, especially in times like these when investor behavior is increasingly affected by consumers’ moral and ethical positions.According to Johannes Schweifer, CEO of Crypto Valley’s CoreLedger, security and transparency challenges, as well as ethical concerns plague the diamond industry. Since over a decade ago, there have been claims of a link between diamond mining and regional hostilities, as noticed in some parts of Africa. Schweifer told Cointelegraph:“The biggest problem in the diamond industry has always been transparency. Most gemstones aren’t able to tell their origin stories. But, what if the stone on your wedding ring is actually a blood diamond, wouldn’t you want to know that? Knowing the origin and ensuring transparency from the ‘mine to the finger’ can not only help you sleep better, but it can also save lives.” Conflict diamonds, otherwise called blood diamonds, are diamonds mined in territories controlled by rebels opposing a legitimate government and subsequently used to fund these rebel movements. Diamond prospectors in Sierra Leone. Source: APSome instances of the unethical utilization of blood diamonds were evident in the 1990s in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola and Sierra Leone. Evidence proved that these diamonds were mined and used to purchase arms and ammunition for military and paramilitary movements.Aside from the sale of diamonds to fuel conflict, numerous reports of unscrupulous labor tactics used to exploit workers in mining sites have surfaced. Child labor also appears to be prevalent in the majority of these areas.Furthermore, the diamond industry has come under fire for the patent monopoly that exists regarding the control of mining processes, distribution and sale of diamonds. This has fueled concerns of an existing cartel that dictates the flow of the industry.In addition, the industry appears to be swarmed with problems such as the environmental concerns of mining, hazardous working atmosphere and insecurity, to name a few.Recent: How blockchain archives can change how we record history in wartimeWhere traditional methods end, blockchain beginsIn light of the problem of blood diamonds, global mining giant De Beers announced the pilot of its blockchain program Tracr, which will ensure that the company does not handle blood diamonds, particularly in distribution and sales. This announcement was made in January of 2018.However, De Beers would not be the first to make plans to track diamonds in order to resolve the issue of conflict in diamond distribution. Almost 20 years ago in 2003, the United Nations established the Kimberley Process Certificate Scheme with the goal of inhibiting the flow of blood diamonds into the global diamond market. This decision was reached following the Fowler Report of 2000 which showed that blood diamonds were still being used in conflict funding by the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola.However, the Kimberley Process has been condemned by organizations such as the Canada-based nongovernmental organization IMPACT, and Global Witness, an NGO headquartered in London which looks to prevent natural resource exploitation and human rights abuses, among other things. They alleged inefficiency.Speaking to BBC in 2011, Global Witness founding director Charmian Gooch noted that “nearly nine years after the Kimberley Process was launched, the sad truth is that most consumers still cannot be sure where their diamonds come from.”Gooch noted that the initiative has failed three separate tests especially in addressing unique concerns in Ivory Coast, Venezuela and Zimbabwe as her NGO left the process.Furthermore, IMPACT cited a failure to give accurate reports of the origins of diamonds and a “false confidence” given to consumers as reasons for its criticism of the Kimberley Process. Joanne Lebert, executive director at IMPACT, noted this as the NGO pulled out of the initiative in January of 2018. IMPACT pulled out of the process a few days after the announcement of De Beers’ Tracr. Tracr was piloted in early May 2018 with initial plans to launch later in the same year and a vision to make the platform accessible to the global diamond market. In the pilot, De Beers announced that it was able to successfully track 100 diamonds of high value as they passed through the conventional journey from their birthplace, the mine and to the ultimate retailer.“Blockchain technology and tokenization can provide a way to fractionalize ownership — instead of going full-risk on a single stone, one can spread the risk across many investors. Even the assessment and evaluation process can even be outsourced or shared. From an investment perspective, tokenization is a great way to open up diamonds to the average person,” Schweifer added.Tracr uses an identifying tag that De Beers dubbed Global Diamond ID, particular to each diamond, which identifies the diamond’s individual attributes such as clarity, color and carat weight. The unique information peculiar to a particular diamond as noted by its ID is then logged on a public ledger which Tracr uses to follow the diamond’s progress along the distribution chain.Tracr was officially launched earlier in May with De Beers noting that the initiative is already integrated into its business module globally. About a quarter of De Beers’ production by value has already been logged on Tracr in their first three Sights of 2022. A Sight is a term for a sale event with a respective lot of diamonds that are put up for sale.De Beers also pointed out some of the key benefits of the blockchain used which involve immutability, security, data security, privacy, transparency and speed. According to De Beers, the blockchain is expected to be able to “register one million diamonds a week onto the platform.”Blockchain increases transparency for every party involvedDe Beers is not the only company working on blockchain tracing solutions for the provenance of diamonds. IBM unveiled the TrustChain Initiative in April 2018 in collaboration with an association of jewelry companies.The TrustChain Initiative was created with the goal of increasing transparency for consumers by tracking the origins of jewelry using the IBM blockchain platform.On January 12, 2021, diamond marketplace Rare Carat partnered with EverLedger to provide more transparency on the origins of diamonds on its platform by using EverLedger’s blockchain.Recent: Rising global adoption positions crypto perfectly for use in retailThe global diamond industry is top-tier despite its several challenges and bleak past. Like finance and a host of other sectors, blockchain has proven to be useful in improving the diamond industry, especially in addressing issues with regard to the origins of diamonds.The proper ledger to use in tracing the provenance of jewelry should be immutable and transparent, hence a public ledger without a central point of control should be employed. Otherwise, the whole idea of transparent evaluation is dead on arrival as was allegedly noted in the Kimberley Process.“When it comes to transparency, the largest beneficiaries of blockchain are consumers and authorities. Ultimately, this will hold the industry to a higher standard and hopefully improve the working conditions of miners as well. In a business as murky and dangerous as diamonds, this can truly be seen as a benefit,” Schweifer said.He added that diamonds are high-value-density assets, so “it is almost impossible for the average person to own a large, investment-grade stone.” Even for those that can afford them, diamonds are a tricky investment, as a lot of experience is required to avoid being cheated or losing money.

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LUNA drops 20% in a day as whale dumps Terra's UST stablecoin — selloff risks ahead?

LUNA drops 20% in a day as whale dumps Terra's UST stablecoin — selloff risks ahead?

podľa | máj 8, 2022 | 0 |

Terra (LUNA) has plunged significantly after witnessing a FUD attack on its native stablecoin TerraUSD (UST).The LUNA/USD pair dropped 20% between May 7 and May 8, hitting $61, its worst level in three months, after a whale mass-dumped $285 million worth of UST. As a result of this selloff, UST briefly lost its U.S. dollar peg, falling to as low as $0.98.UST daily price chart. Source: TradingViewExcessive LUNA supplyLUNA serves as a collateral asset to maintain UST’s dollar peg, according to Terra’s elastic monetary policy. Therefore, when the value of UST is above $1, the Terra protocol incentivizes users to burn LUNA and mint UST. Conversely, when UST’s price drops below $1, the protocol rewards users for burning UST and minting LUNA.Therefore, during UST supply reduction, LUNA’s valuation should decrease. Similarly, when UST’s supply expands, LUNA’s valuation increases, notes Will Comyns, a researcher at Messari.The chart below shows an ongoing downtrend in the daily UST supply, coinciding with a relative increase in daily LUNA supply. On May 8, UST’s market underwent contraction for the first time in two months, dropping by 28.1 million below zero. Simultaneously, LUNA’s supply expanded by over 436.75 million above zero.Daily change in LUNA and UST supply. Source: SmartStake.ioThe excessive daily supply against what appears to be a lowering or stable market demand may have pushed LUNA’s price lower.More pain for Terra ahead?Terra’s ongoing price decline prompted LUNA to retest a support confluence consisting of its 50-day exponential moving average (50-day EMA; the red wave) near $56 and a multi-month upward sloping trendline.Interestingly, the ascending trendline constitutes a rising wedge pattern in conjugation with another upward trending line above. Rising wedges are bearish reversal setups, so their occurrence on Terra’s weekly chart suggests more downside is probable.LUNA/USD weekly price chart featuring ‘rising wedge’ setup. Source: TradingViewAs a rule of technical analysis, a rising wedge breakdown pushes the price lower by as much as the maximum distance between the structure’s upper and lower trendline. Related: Luna Foundation Guard acquires additional 37,863 BTC as part of reserve strategyThus, if LUNA breaks below its wedge from its current support confluence, accompanied by an increase in volumes, its price would risk falling to around $22.50, down over 60% from today’s price.Conversely, a rebound from the support confluence would have LUNA positioned for a run-up toward the wedge’s upper trendline — above $130, a new record high.The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

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3 reasons why Ethereum price can hit $4K in April

3 reasons why Ethereum price can hit $4K in April

podľa | apr 6, 2022 | 0 |

Three market catalysts suggest that Ethereum’s native token Ether (ETH) is well-positioned to reach $4,000 this month.Google searches for “Ethereum merge” spike Internet users’ interest in Ethereum’s upcoming network upgrade, dubbed “the Merge,” surged substantially in the week ending April 2, Google Trends’ data shows.Searches for the keyword “Ethereum Merge” reached a perfect Google Trends score of 100 on a 12-month timeframe with most traffic coming from the U.S., Singapore, Canada, and Australia.Internet trend score for the keyword ‘Ethereum Merge.’ Source: Google TrendsMerge, also called ETH 2.0, refers to the Ethereum network’s full transition to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) from Proof-of-Work (PoW), a development that had been touted as one of the major catalysts behind Ether’s rebound from $2,500 on March 14 to over $3,500 this week.The bullish outlook stems from Merge’s proposal to reduce Ether’s issuance rate, leading to a possible supply peak in the total number of ETH in circulation. With PoW mining, ETH’s supply has grown by 3% every year.Total value staked in ETH 2.0. Source: GlassnodeThe spike in public interest for “Ethereum Merge” suggests there is growing buzz among crypto investors and traders as the Ethereum upgrade nears. Last month’s launch of Kiln is the final public testnet before the whole network transitions to PoS sometime this year.$ETH I think we see a drive towards $4000 soon as long as price action remains above this support @ $3400.Likely a healthy retrace after a test of 4kThen into a aggressive move to new ATH’s for merge pic.twitter.com/ZDvReVPAWP— Cactus (@thecryptocactus) April 5, 2022Exchange ETH reserves at three-year lowsAt the same time, ETH supply downtrend on crypto exchanges continues. Notably, net Ether reserves across all the exchanges have dropped to their lowest levels since August 2018, suggesting that traders have been withdrawing ETH en masse to hold them long-term or to stake them across DeFi liquidity pools.Ethereum balance on exchanges. Source: GlassnodeWhat’s more, the number of addresses with a non-zero balance continues to rise, suggesting growing adoption and distribution of ETH.Ethereum number of addresses with a non-zero balance. Source: GlassnodeTechnicals hint at $4K ETH priceChances of ETH price reaching $4,000 in April are also boosted by a classic technical pattern.Dubbed “symmetrical triangle,” the pattern usually forms when the price consolidates sideways inside a range defined by a lowering upper trendline and a rising lower trendline, following a sharp move upside or downside. In an ideal scenario, the triangle resolves after the price breaks in the direction of its previous trend, and is thus considered a “continuation pattern.”Related: Crypto venture capital firms see surging assets under managementHowever, symmetrical triangle breakouts do not necessarily result in a continuation trend. For instance, in the book Technical Analysis of Stock Trends, technical analysts Robert Edwards and John Magee note that about 25% of all symmetrical triangle breakouts lead to reversals, i.e., the price does not break in the direction of its previous trend, thus defying anticipations.Ethereum’s current breakout appears to be a reversal as it bounces to the upside instead of continuing its previous trend to the downside, as shown in the chart below.ETH/USD daily price chart featuring symmetrical triangle setup. Source: TradingViewA symmetrical triangle’s potential breakout target is calculated after measuring the maximum length between the pattern’s upper and lower trendline and then adding the result to its breakout point. This puts the ETH/USD bullish target at nearly $4,000.The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

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Just 2 million Bitcoin left: Bitcoin hits the 19 million milestone

Just 2 million Bitcoin left: Bitcoin hits the 19 million milestone

podľa | apr 1, 2022 | 0 |

The 19th millionth Bitcoin (BTC) was mined on Friday, a landmark occasion for the number one cryptocurrency. Nineteen million Bitcoin are now in circulation, with just 2 million Bitcoin yet to be minted (or mined) until roughly the year 2140. In block 730002, mined by SBI Crypto, the 19 millionth Bitcoin entered circulation. SBI Crypto earned ‎6.32 BTC, roughly $293,000 for the trouble in transaction fees and block reward. A momentous occasion, the Bitcoin community was quick to celebrate the milestone event.The 19,000,000th bitcoin was just mined.Only 2 million more bitcoin to go.— Pomp (@APompliano) April 1, 2022The CEO of possibly one of the world’s most ESGfriendly Bitcoin miners, Kjetil Hove Pettersen of Kryptovault, told Cointelegraph “we have only two million Bitcoin—less than 10% of the total—left to mine.” He continued:”This may seem like a small number at first glance, but I believe the best days of mining are still ahead of us.”Bert de Groot, founder of a Bitcoin flower come mining company, Bitcoin Bloem, told Cointelegraph the “19th million Bitcoin being mined today marks a historical moment.” He concluded that it “makes us realize once more how important the work was that Satoshi Nakamoto,” joking that “we wish we could have sent flowers to show our gratitude.”According to Vlad Costea, founder of Bitcoin Takeover, there are “only 2 million BTC left to mine in the next 118 years!” Over the past 13 years since the inception of Bitcoin, miners have uncovered 19 million Bitcoin; the last Bitcoin is expected to be mined in the year 2140.The 18,500,000 millionth Bitcoin was mined in September 2020, as the current issuance rate is 6.25 Bitcoin per block. The next halving, where the issuance rate is cut in half, is scheduled for 2024. Bitcoin halving and issuance rate. Source: BitcoinfoolFor the Bitcoin community, the 19 millionth Bitcoin mined highlights the scarcity of Bitcoin. According to Human Rights Foundation chief strategy officer Alex Gladstein, the scarcity is even more prominent, given how early the world is on the route to adopting Bitcoin:Truly amazing that 19 million of a total of 21 million bitcoin have been issued and globally distributed and yet we are only at the very dawn of nation-state adoption. https://t.co/8MsqbWDapb— Alex Gladstein ⚡ (@gladstein) April 1, 2022

Related: Bitcoin ‘dormant’ for 7+ years moved right before BTC price dropped 5%To date, El Salvador is the only nation-state to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, now issuing Bitcoin-backed “Volcano Bonds” to raise money. However, several other countries including Brazil showed promising signs of Bitcoin adoption in 2021.With less than 10% of the Bitcoin left to be mined, the most aggressive Bitcoin buyers—such as Do Kwon’s Luna Foundation Guard—face an uphill battle if they want to continue stacking Sats.   

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3 reasons why Ethereum price can still retest $3K this month

3 reasons why Ethereum price can still retest $3K this month

podľa | mar 16, 2022 | 0 |

Ethereum’s native token Ether (ETH) could reach back to $3,000 in March, backed by a mix of short-term technical, fundamental, and on-chain catalysts.ETH price paints “symmetrical triangle”The first interim bullish outlook for Ether ironically comes from a bearish continuation patternNotably, ETH’s 50%-plus decline from its all-time high of around $4,650 on Dec. 2, 2021, followed up with forming a consolidation channel called a symmetrical triangle. Hence, the Ethereum token has been fluctuating between a falling upper trendline and a rising lower trendline since the beginning of this year.ETH/USD daily price chart featuring symmetrical triangle. Source: TradingViewETH/USD last retested the triangle’s lower trendline as support on March 14 near $2,500, following a sharp correction after finding sellers near the 20-day exponential moving average (20-day EMA; the green wave in the chart above). Since then, ETH’s price has rebounded by as much as 9.26%, closing above the 20-day EMA resistance on March 16 to reach almost $2,750. A decisive rebound move, accompanied by a rise in trading volumes, could have Ether eye the triangle’s upper trendline as its next upside target near $3,000.The Merge On March 15, Ethereum developer Tim Beiko announced that they have successfully tested the “Merge” on the Kiln testnet, raising speculations that the protocol would completely switch from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) in Q2/2022. And it seems to have worked Post-merge blocks are being produced by validators, and they contain transactions! https://t.co/xearnsuZFpJust waiting on finalization now https://t.co/BEfJOI4qqj pic.twitter.com/c4p1UXB5vw— Tim Beiko | timbeiko.eth (@TimBeiko) March 15, 2022The euphoria around the Merge has acted as one of the main bullish prospects behind Ethereum’s growth since the introduction of its first consensus layer upgrades in December 2020. Arcane Research noted in its latest weekly report that a total of 312,000 validators staked 10 million ETH on the Merge — also called Ethereum 2.0 — smart contacts. That amounts to nearly $26 billion worth of Ether, more than 8% of its total circulating supply, now locked away. The prospects of more Ether going out of circulation, coupled with hopes of higher demand, have pushed its price up by nearly 360% from its December 2020 low of around $525 to date.Lito Coen, the founder of Crypto Testers, a product comparison platform, anticipates Merge’s launch to have Ethereum’s daily emission rate slashed from 12,000 ETH a day to 1,280 a day, noting that the network’s “yearly inflation will go down from 4.3% to 0.43%” — equivalent of three Bitcoin halvings. Ethereum supply growth. Source: Lito Coen”And the 0.4% inflation figure is without taking into account the automated ETH burn introduced by EIP-1559 ($5b burnt since launch) taking ETH burn into account Ethereum will be deflationary,” Coen wrote.Positive divergence between utility and pricesA bullish divergence between Ethereum’s daily active addresses (DAA) and ETH’s price is also emerging, according to data from analytics platform Santiment.Notably, Ethereum’s DAA fell but not as much as the prices, which dropped about 35% in the past four months. That indicated that users continued to interact with the Ethereum network for reasons beyond speculation and trading.Related: How professional Ethereum traders place bullish ETH price bets while limiting lossesETH active addresses divergence remains in the area where prices historically rise,” noted Santiment, while citing the chart below.Ethereum DAA-price divergence. Source: Santiment”This is a vote of confidence in Ethereum and a statement that it’s here to stay (and grow),” said Michael Pearl, COO of dapp developer Kirobo, adding that its growth in the DeFi space would boost ETH’s price even beyond $3,000.The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

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El Salvador president predicts ‘gigantic price increase’ for Bitcoin

El Salvador president predicts ‘gigantic price increase’ for Bitcoin

podľa | jan 31, 2022 | 0 |

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele made yet another bullish Bitcoin (BTC) prediction soon after the International Monetary Fund had urged his government to remove Bitcoin’s status as legal tender.Bukele took to Twitter on Monday to predict that Bitcoin will ultimately see a “gigantic price increase” due to its limited supply of only 21 million digital coins.The president cited Bitcoin’s scarcity case, emphasizing there are “more than 50 million millionaires” in the world, and there is not enough Bitcoin if each one of them wanted to own at least 1 BTC.“No enough for even half of them. A gigantic price increase is just a matter of time,” Bukele wrote.There are more than 50 million millionaires in the world.Imagine when each one of them decides they should own at least ONE #BitcoinBut there will ever be only 21 million #BitcoinNo enough for even half of them.A gigantic price increase is just a matter of time.— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) January 31, 2022Bukele’s comments came shortly after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had urged El Salvador to end its recognition of Bitcoin as legal tender due to risks related to financial stability and consumer protection. The IMF’s report followed a sharp Bitcoin price decline, with BTC losing about $10,000 of its value in a period from Jan. 20 to Jan. 25, according to data from CoinGecko.Bitcoin 30-day price chart. Source: CoinGeckoThe latest Bitcoin crash caused major dollar-nominated losses to El Salvador’s Bitcoin reserves. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, the Salvadoran government made its first 200-BTC purchase on Sept. 6, when BTC traded around $52,000. The government then bought 420 BTC on Oct. 27 when Bitcoin’s market price was above $58,000. El Salvador also later bought some Bitcoin at around $54,000 in November and more BTC at $49,000 in mid-December.At the time of writing, BTC is trading at $37,159, down about 45% from its historical highs of above $68,000 recorded on Nov. 9.

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Wait and see approach: 3/4 of Bitcoin supply now illiquid

Wait and see approach: 3/4 of Bitcoin supply now illiquid

podľa | jan 5, 2022 | 0 |

Bitcoin markets have been consolidating since the beginning of the year, but on-chain metrics are painting a more positive picture as more of the asset is becoming illiquid.On-chain analytics provider Glassnode has been delving into Bitcoin supply metrics to get a better view of the longer-term macro trends in its weekly report on Jan. 3.The findings revealed that although the asset has been trading sideways so far this year, more BTC has become illiquid. There has been an acceleration in illiquid supply growth which now comprises more than three quarters, or 76%, of the total circulating supply.Glassnode defines illiquidity as when BTC is moved to a wallet with no history of spending. Liquid supply BTC, which makes up 24% of the total, is in wallets that spend or trade regularly such as exchanges and hot wallets.“We can see that over the final months of 2021, even as prices corrected, there has been an acceleration of coins from liquid, into Illiquid wallets.”The figures suggest that more Bitcoin is being transferred into storage indicating an increase in hodling habits and accumulation. The decline in highly liquid supply also hints that there may not be a major selloff or capitulation event at any time in the near future.BTC liquid and illiquid supply as a percent of the total: GlassnodeThe researchers concluded that these conditions indicate “divergence between what appears to be constructive on-chain supply dynamics, compared to bearish-to-neutral price action.”Related: Just 1.3 million Bitcoin left circulating on crypto exchangesIn the same report, Glassnode stated that the total supply held by long-term holders has plateaued over the past month or so. This suggests that longer-term investors have stopped spending or selling coins and have become hodlers or even accumulators at this stage. “This provides another constructive view of market conviction,” it concluded.The current supply held by long-termers is 13.35 million BTC, a decline of just 1.1% from October’s high of 13.5 million coins. Glassnode defines these long-term holders (LTH) as wallets or accounts that have held their Bitcoin for more than 155 days.

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Only 10% of Bitcoin supply left to mine

Only 10% of Bitcoin supply left to mine

podľa | dec 13, 2021 | 0 |

Total circulating Bitcoin (BTC) hit a significant milestone on Monday morning, one and a half years after the last Bitcoin halving, as 90% of the maximum total supply has been mined.Current data from Blockchain.com shows Bitcoin in circulation hit 18.899 million as of Dec. 13, meaning only 10% of the total supply is left to mine. While the first 90% of BTC took about 12 years to mine, the rest will take a little longer. Bitcoin has a hard cap of 21 million coins set by its anonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto. This limitation is written in Bitcoin’s source code and enforced by network nodes. The hard cap on Bitcoin is critical to its value proposition as a currency and an investment tool.Bitcoin circulating supply. Source: Blockchain.comAs detailed by Cointelegraph, it would take 119 years from now to complete the Bitcoin mining process due to the rate of producing new Bitcoin being cut by half every four years in a pre-determined protocol execution, also known as the Bitcoin halving. Related: The history of Bitcoin: When did Bitcoin start?Since the Bitcoin blockchain only creates new BTC as a reward for miners verifying new blocks, the halving ensures less Bitcoin is produced as the total circulating supply increases. Since May 2020, miners have earned 6.25 Bitcoin for every new block verified. This rate would decrease to 3.125 BTC per block in the next halving in 2024.By 2040, the block reward will have reduced to less than 0.2 BTC and only 80,000 Bitcoin out of 21 million will be left up for grabs. The last Bitcoin would take close to 40 years to mine.The Bitcoin price started the week with a fresh rejection of $50,000 as the end-of-year close is fast approaching. It is almost 30% down from its all-time high of $68,789 reached on Nov. 10 at the time of publishing.

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