Cambodia, China, Ukraine, and Uruguay are other countries that have progressed successfully in this area. The currency of the central bank of Thailand is the most developed when it comes to institutional usage.

According to a report published by the professional consulting firm PwC, the most advanced central bank digital currency (CBDC) is that of the Bahamas. This conclusion came to light because of its availability to the public in general. Cambodia and China are second and third in the world rankings.

The top 10 countries that have developed this type of project the most are Ukraine, Uruguay, Ecuador, Eastern Caribbean States, Sweden, South Korea, and Turkey. The variables to qualify them were the status of the project, the central bank’s position, and the public interest, among others.

The report, called PwC Global CBDC Index 2021 (1st Edition), highlights that the wallet for the Bahamian Sand Dollar has been available to the public since last year. It can be helpful through a cell phone application or a physical payment card.

On the other hand, China is still running the testing phase, even though this Asian giant is the country with more knowledge in this area. There is still no approximate date for the official launch of the CBDC, even though more than 2 billion yuan (the US $ 300 million) went as an inversion in the tests.

In South American countries, the CBDC of Ecuador is inactive, although it came to light in 2015 under the name Electronic Money System (SDE). The initiative was a failure due to the lack of trust the users perceived in it. By 2018, it faced a replacement by another digital payment system called BIMO.

For its part, Uruguay conducted tests between 2017 and 2018, but not using blockchain technology, but rather a centralized alternative. However, the transactions were anonymous, and the banks did not participate.

However, the consideration went only for institutional development for transactions between banks and other agencies, the most developed CBDC is Thailand, followed by Hong Kong and Singapore.

The remaining top 10 are Canada, the United Kingdom, France, South Africa, Europe, the United Arab Emirates, and Japan.

These Projects Focuses its Efforts on Blockchain Technology

One of the technical issues highlighted in the report is that 88% of these projects aim for blockchain technology. However, this blockchain is centralized, so privacy is not a guarantee as in traditional cryptocurrencies.

CBDCs are digital versions of fiat money and receive a back-up from a central bank, as presented to the Sand Dollar project at the time. According to PwC, more than 60 countries worldwide are into a research mode to find possible applications and benefits.

Henri Arslanian, partner and cryptocurrency benchmark at PwC, said that the general public would be “one of the main beneficiaries of CBDCs, as they will give them access to a digital form of central bank money for the first time.”

By: Jenson Nuñez

Other analysts coincide with the bank’s strategists in their arguments defending that $ 60,000 is a crucial level for Bitcoin’s bull rally to keep on the top.

Analysts at banking giant JPMorgan warned that the Bitcoin (BTC) market shows weak points after the most prominent cryptocurrency went through a significant correction.

Bitcoin and the entire digital currency market crashed over the weekend after some events collided. An electric power outage in China caused the hash rate of the Bitcoin network to crumble down, and about $ 10 billion of it went through liquidation in the market.

The primary cryptocurrency had hit a new high above $ 64,600 on Wednesday when Coinbase shares hit the stock market. However, the slide caused Bitcoin to slide back to $ 50,000. The largest digital asset was trading around $ 55,000.

JPMorgan is worrying about Bitcoin

JPMorgan analyst and strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou spoke about many concerning situations in the crypto market scenario. In his view, the price of Bitcoin could suffer even more if it does not regain the $ 60,000 ground shortly.

“If the largest cryptocurrency is not able to break above $ 60,000 again soon, the signals of momentum will subside,” The bank’s strategists led by Panigirtzoglou said.

It is also essential to consider that traders, including commodity trading advisers (CTAs) and digital asset funds, were possibly behind the buildup of long BTC futures in recent weeks and the subsequent price crash.

On previous occasions, much of the price action in the past year occurred due to the Bitcoin’ futures’ market, a financial instrument that tracks BTC prices and allows investors to trade high-leverage (borrowing funds as collateral) place large bets.

USD 60,000 is the Needed Level for Bitcoin

The bank’s analysts described the possible adverse effects of this price drop on the main long-term asset. Momentum traces will naturally decrease from now to several months, given their high level.

Although the analysts noted similarities between the latest fixes, they referred to the most recent one as a potential revolutionary event, significantly if Bitcoin doesn’t rebound fastly, as it did months ago. The analysts also added that flows into Bitcoin funds now appear more strengthless.

“It remains to be seen if we see a repeat of those earlier episodes at the current juncture. The probability of something like this to happen again seems minimal because the fall in momentum seems more advanced and, therefore, more difficult to reverse, “they added.

The famous crypto strategist, known on Twitter as Jack Sparrow, recently shared a similar analysis. He observed that a Bitcoin move below the $ 53,500 support risks a selloff until the next support.

Norwegian cryptocurrency-focused research firm Arcane Research stated that users would face first resistance at around $ 58,000, while $ 50,000 should be a strong enough supportive level. This figure used to be resistant in late February and early March but then turned into a supportive figure in late March and this weekend.

There are many similar opinions to the ones that analysts at JPMorgan and Sparrow are currently managing. The researchers noted that a drop below $ 50,000 would be bearish in the short term and could potentially lead to the $ 45,000 level.

By: Jenson Nuñez

Ether climbs to new all-time highs while Bitcoin remains in a lateralization phase. For the first time since August 2018, Ether is approaching a price of 0.05 BTC.

Ether (ETH), the second cryptocurrency by market capitalization behind Bitcoin (BTC), reached a new all-time high of USD 2,580, according to CoinMarketCap. The price of Ether in Bitcoin has increased by almost 18% in the last week and is now at 0.04687 BTC. The cryptocurrency had not seen that level since mid-August 2018.

The previous all-time high of Ether, USD 2,544, had taken place last April 15^th, so the new high represents just a 1.73% appreciation. However, the positioning of Ether against Bitcoin has improved by a factor of 10, regarding the price, in the last week.

The price of Ether evolved in both US dollars and Bitcoin BTC since 2016 and the last week. On the one hand, it is possible to see that the price of Ether against Bitcoin recently reached a local high of 0.046803 BTC. However, this is still a third of the all-time high of 0.13712 BTC that it reached on June 15^th, 2017.

The Ether Bullish Momentum Is Gaining Strength

Investor Raoul Pal comments on an ETH/BTC chart, highlighting that it shows a valley between 2018 and today. That could suggest an upcoming bullish momentum for Ether expressed in Bitcoin.

“Honestly, I look at the ETH/BTC chart and I see a huge rounded valley with great potential for an upward breakout,” Pal says on Twitter. The investor notes that, when assigning the price related to NFT tokens or community tokens on DeFi platforms, that price is in Ether. “Ether is rapidly becoming the currency of the digital world and Bitcoin is the pristine collateral and base layer,” says Pal.

Pal uses a graph showing the annual growth of Ethereum addresses since July 2018 to support his argument in favor of Ether’s momentum.

According to the graph, the growth of Ether addresses has been at positive levels for a year and currently shows a level close to 75%.

When the activation of the Berlin fork on Ethereum successfully occurred, the aforementioned previous all-time high for Ether took place. There were some synchronization delays due to failures of the OpenEthereum client in approximately 15% of the nodes. However, the solution to this problem arrived in a few hours.

What Happened Exactly After the Activation of the Berlin Hard Fork

After the Berlin hard fork, the nodes were not synchronizing with the Ethereum Blockchain. In other words, anyone running that client, 12% of all Ethereum nodes, were not able to use the Blockchain until the correction of the error occurred.

The problem caused a crash in the Etherscan block explorer but it seems to have only affected the OpenEthereum nodes. Geth, the most used Ethereum client, was working correctly. The problem may have been due to a transaction related to a smart contract not existing yet.

As a consequence of the event, Coinbase halted Ether and ERC-20 withdrawals. However, the exchange subsequently reactivated these transactions.

By Alexander Salazar

The Dogeday became a shock for users who had dreamed of instant profits. The alluring meme cryptocurrency seduced many, who entered the market without acquiring knowledge.

According to Nic Carter, co-founder of Coin Metrics, around 872 million DOGE were back in circulation this week. Those who had kept the cryptocurrency for at least five years decided to sell their holdings for a profit. They expected to obtain about USD 287 million amid a bullish run in the price of the crypto asset.

Last week, the cryptocurrency was trading at 0.44 after achieving a 100% growth that led it to reach a new all-time high. Only in April, there was an increase of 6,900%, which aroused the interest of many users. They had kept a reserve of a crypto asset that did not cost more than 5 cents on the US dollar.

After this week’s massive sale, the price of DOGE has dropped by as much as 19% below USD 0.29, according to data from CoinMarketCap. However, it remains more than 100% above its price last week. The decline does not cause any surprise in the ecosystem, much less for those who have already warned it.

Nic Carter warned that the Dogecoin bubble will soon burst as the crypto asset is a vehicle for speculation. In an interview on the CNBC news channel, he said that users who invest in the cryptocurrency will lose money. He explained that it offers nothing in the long term, given that it does not have much in terms of technology.

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of the Cardano blockchain, believes that the meme cryptocurrency poses a risk to the entire industry. Additionally, he said that regulators will transform the ecosystem when the bubble finally bursts. “Do not buy Dogecoin and get out of it,” he recommended. “If you made money with this cryptocurrency, that is great! However, get out of there because it is a bubble. It is not real and there is nothing sustainable there.”

Dogecoin Is a Meme Cryptocurrency that Makes People Cry

CoinMetrics analysts consider that social media and the support of millionaires have promoted DOGE. Groups on Twitter, TikTok, Discord, Telegram, and Reddit drive its price higher.

Some fans of the cryptocurrency turned to social media to invite people to celebrate the so-called Dogeday. The day scheduled for the celebration consisted of buying as many coins as possible until the price rose to 1 US dollar. However, when DOGE began to lose value, the celebration was only on the side of those who had gotten rid of the cryptocurrency.

Some new users hoped to cross the USD 0.50 barrier so that they would make a profit. Meanwhile, others were shedding the funds that they had kept for at least five years, as Carter had warned. Therefore, the invitation to reach the USD 1 mark became a shock for many DOGE fans. They aspired for a gift in the form of quick winnings or instant fortunes.

Social media users are familiar with these formulas, called Pump and Dump, to catapult the price of an asset. An investor or group of investors uses this market manipulation scheme to increase the price of an asset that they own and then sell it en masse.

By Alexander Salazar

69% of respondents are even regular users; they buy and “hold” cryptocurrencies. Gemini foresees a prosperous future for crypto assets.

Everything seems to indicate that cryptocurrencies are gaining more followers in the United States. The cryptocurrency exchange Gemini released a survey on April 21, in which they say that 63% of American adults are curious about digital assets.

According to Gemini, there is a substantial expansion and diversification of small cryptocurrency investors in the country, growing in number and as experienced users. The study occurred due to consultations of 3,000 people, distributed throughout the United States of America with ages between 18 and 65 years.

Cryptocurrencies Will Double this Year and Women will be the Leaders

The document states that their data don’t show cryptocurrencies as currencies to a large extent or as a temporary or opportunistic trade, but rather an intelligent part of a strategy, as most investors are buying to hold for a future. In that sense, they believe that the number of investors in cryptocurrencies will double this year, and women will be the leaders.

This large number of women, which surpasses men, are interested in entering the world of cryptocurrencies. These women represent 53% of the surveyed. Only a quarter of these women are under 35 years old, and 25% are 55 years old or older.

The survey indicates that 13% of American adults will purchase and invest in cryptocurrencies in the next year.

Regarding cryptocurrencies as a store of value, 69% buy and keep cryptocurrencies.36% of people will use crypto assets to trade and obtain various benefits, access special services and other extra profits. The remaining 27% use it to make purchases on the Internet.

For the exchange founded by the Winklevoss brothers, the future of cryptocurrencies “looks very promising. The brothers have openly talked about how excited they are because of the influx of diverse audiences to keep shaping that future.

Noah Perlman, Gemini’s director of operations, sees the data reflected in the study as positive. “There is a broader set of players who establish a positive long-term evolution of the market,” he added.

Americans See the Investment in Cryptocurrencies as a Safe Port

A report from the market research company Piplsay showed that 50% of the country’s citizens believe it is safe to invest in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Digital currencies are now seen as a safe port to place an ideal investment.

Piplsay also indicated that 57% of Americans consider that the essential companies should accept bitcoin as a means of payment.

However, the outlook is different for top executives when it comes to bitcoin. According to the most recent report from the Bank of America, about 74% of the executives consulted believe that bitcoin is a bubble. The remaining 16% responded that they consider bitcoin a speculative asset.

By: Jenson Nuñez

More than 40 people have validated Ginobili’s registration in Proof of Humanity. The former NBA player claims to be a “lover of new technologies.”

The ex-NBA player Emanuel “Manu” Ginobili registered on the Proof Of Humanity (PoH) platform on April 21. It is a project developed on Ethereum that connects addresses in this blockchain with verified human identities and delivers, in exchange, a basic income in the UBI token.

In this regard, the former basketball player said: “I certify that I am a real human and that I am not in this registry”. The former player explained his situation in a video that he provides as proof of identity. As the PoH regulation indicates, he shows his Ethereum address (in which he owns 5.82 ETH, as observed in Etherscan).

Unlike others interested in getting the UBI, this former San Antonio Spurs player did not have to wait long to be “vouched”. Many people have already validated the athlete’s identity. Among them are the developer leading the project, Santiago Siri, and Gino Tubaro, a renowned social entrepreneur from Argentina.

Telegram Groups Dedicated to UBI and Jokes about Ginobili’s Current Situation

In the Telegram groups dedicated to UBI (where some people waiting for verification mainly assemble), the participation of Ginobili appeared to be a celebration. Pia Mancini, a member of Democracy Earth, the organization behind the project, even joked about the situation: “Is Manu Ginobili a human? Anyone who has seen him play can legitimately question him.”

The participation of the athlete in Proof Of Humanity seems to be consistent with their interests outside the basketball world. Ginobili describes himself as a “lover of new technologies” and has promoted initiatives to expand the teaching of programming and development. Also, The former NBA star recently published that he is already exploring the crypto world.

Among other celebrities who have also tokenized their identity in Ethereum through PoH, there is also the Argentine Marcos Galperin, founder and CEO of MercadoLibre.

UBI is a Sustainable Model of Digital Identities

The creator of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, has not yet certified his humanity on this platform. However, he is currently a member of the Telegram group “Proof of Humanity” and has occasionally interacted with the other participants. Buterin explained back on March 16 that decentralized governance and airdrops like UBI are the two most essential use cases. According to him, this is how a public registry of this type should be.

The Democracy Earth Foundation and Kleros jointly develop the UBI project. Its mission is to create a sustainable model of sovereign and digital identities. The platform, which shows itself as “the Internet of humans, ” uses trust networks, tests, and dispute resolution mechanisms to reach this goal.

By: Jenson Nuñez