The programmer considers that 524 thousand nodes would be enough to achieve optimal operation. More than 100,000 validators are currently registered to participate in the Beacon Chain.

Vitalik Buterin proposed limiting the number of active validator nodes in version 2.0 of the smart contract network. The Ethereum co-founder noted that there are currently 115,000 active validators in the Beacon Chain. That is the first step for Ethereum 2.0, but he believes that the figure could reach around four million nodes.

The developer believes that this figure could be detrimental for several reasons. He stressed that there will be more work for client creators, who would have to ensure that the programs can handle that amount. Besides, operators would have to make sure that their equipment is capable of processing the calculations.

A Lower Number of Nodes Would Allow Taking Advantage of Their Capabilities

Buterin suggests establishing a ceiling of active nodes that allow taking advantage of their capabilities efficiently. The developer recently noted that that limit could be around 524,000 nodes.

“If there are more active validators than the ceiling, some ‘sleep’ randomly and probabilistically for a period between a few hours and a few days. Sleeping validators do not receive rewards and have no responsibilities, and they can even go offline during that time,” Buterin explained.

Implementation of Vitalik’s Proposal Would Reduce Verification Burden

According to the developer, the varying difficulty of verifying blocks and keeping pace with the chain on the Beacon Chain is annoying. He believes that such an implementation would reduce the burden of verification, making it easier to handle nodes for validators and non-validators.

A limit of active validator nodes will increase the certainty about the level of hardware that is enough to validate the Beacon Chain. In other words, operators could save funds when configuring their equipment as it would not be necessary to over-invest.

Staking on Ethereum 2.0 Would Be More Accessible to Participate as a Validator

Buterin’s proposal would make the staking (or amount of funds blocked to participate as a validator on the network) more accessible as it could decrease. Currently, those operators who want to participate must have available a total of 32 ETH. However, services such as exchanges and pools offer alternatives to form collaborative groups.

Right now, 3.7 million ETH (equivalent to around USD 7,700) are committed to the project, according to data from the Ethereum Launchpad.

Participating nodes that propose and validate blocks receive incentives, which are linked to the total amount of ETH “staked” on the network. Those who had funds at the beginning of the call obtain an annual rate equivalent to 21.6%. As more validators have come in, the figure has dropped, and the current annual return is around 8%.

The activation of the Beacon Chain, a validator registry network that temporarily operates in parallel with the Ethereum network, occurred in late 2020. That was the first step on a long road to going from a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) one. The first is based on computing power and electrical energy, while the second is based on capital and software.

By Alexander Salazar

The show of strength that a group of Ethereum miners had planned to reject proposal EIP-1559 failed. All the miners protesting against the burning of fees would transfer their computing power to other networks.

A group of Ethereum miners had planned a show of strength to reject the burning of fees, but they did not succeed. These miners sought to demonstrate how much hash power was against the proposal, but the rest of the community approves it.

The idea of the protest was that all miners rejecting the EIP-1559 algorithm would transfer their computing power to the Ethermine pool. They aimed to prove all the strength of those demonstrating against the implementation of the improvement of the Ethereum network.

Despite the miners’ efforts, Ethermine’s hash rate just had a slight growth when the rally took place. In recent days, the group generated a computing power of 94 TH/s, which barely increased to only 96 TH/s.

This Group of Miners Are Against the Burning of Part of Their Rewards

The EIP-1559 improvement for the Ethereum network proposes better management of the high fees that have been suffocating users. It intends to establish a market base rate to include transactions in the blocks while adding tips to stimulate miners. After that, base costs will burn; thus, reducing supply inflation.

However, the implementation of the said algorithm encouraged the debate after several miners expressed their rejection. They considered that they would lose part of their rewards, which will burn as a result of the improvement proposal.

The Red Panda Mining Twitter account, where the call came from, recently invited Ethereum miners to mine the Ravencoin project. One user claims that he did so as the implementation of the EIP-1559 algorithm on the network will occur. This situation may lead some workers to search for other alternatives.

The High Cost of Transaction Fees on Ethereum

In recent days, the transaction fees on the Ethereum network have increased by 90%, according to data from Ycharts. This statistics service indicates that the average transaction fee on the network increased from USD 12.82 to USD 22.35.

The London hard fork, which includes the EIP-1559 protocol, will occur in July. It will introduce changes in how to manage fees based on fixed rates rather than in an auction system like the current one.

Some people view the algorithm optimistically, considering it a deflationary mechanism. They believe that it will lead to driving the price of the Ether (ETH) cryptocurrency higher, but others see it unfavorably.

The Berlin hard fork, which will occur on April 14^th, will introduce an algorithm to redefine the gas prices of a transaction. This event will include other improvement proposals such as the protection of the network against Denial of Service (DoS) attacks. All these changes are part of the main steps for Ethereum’s transition from the current Proof of Work (PoW) consensus to a Proof of Stake (PoS) model.

At the time of writing this article, Ether is trading at around USD 2,100 while Bitcoin’s price is around 59,000. Regarding the latter, it proves that it is still the best option for those who want to enter the cryptocurrency market.

By Alexander Salazar

Cuban reveals that his portfolio consists of 60% of Bitcoin and 30% of Ether. The businessman considers Ether to be the closest to being a “true currency.”

On several occasions, Mark Cuban has shown his position on Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), the Ether (ETH) cryptocurrency, and even Dogecoin (DOGE). The American billionaire businessman recently said that he has been acquiring crypto assets for several years. He revealed that he currently manages “60% of Bitcoin, 30% of Ether and 10% of other cryptocurrencies” in his portfolio.

Cuban stated that his addresses are in the “whale listings level” due to the amount of BTC and ETH that he owns. The investor added that if the price of the pioneering cryptocurrency dropped, he would buy more.

Cuban Now Considers that Bitcoin Functions as a Store of Value

In 2012, some people told Cuban that Bitcoin was a currency, but he told them that it was “not going to work.” However, he now considers that it does function as “a store of value.” Besides, he explained that “its algorithmic scarcity can convince people that it is a better alternative to gold. [This particular feature is what] causes its price to rise.”

The owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team said that only the supply and demand law drives the value of Bitcoin and gold. “All the narratives on the devaluation of fiat money are only plots of sales. The biggest sales drive is scarcity versus demand, that is all,” according to Cuban.

Ether Is a Cryptocurrency that Can Adapt Over Time

Ether is Ethereum’s native token and the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization behind Bitcoin. The businessman said that he was quite interested in ETH. He thinks that smart contracts based on this blockchain have led to “changing everything.” He added that Ethereum can “adapt over time”, which makes it “more realistic” than other alternatives.

“Smart contracts arrived and created DeFi (decentralized finance) and non-fungible tokens (NFT), [which] changed the game. That is what moved me,” Mark Cuban stressed.

Although the billionaire investor began to acquire ETH four years ago, he noted that he would have bought more before. In his opinion, “it is the closest that we have to a real currency.”

The Dogecoin Cryptocurrency Can Have an Educational Value

Concerning the Dogecoin cryptocurrency, he said that he had bought it to educate his 11-year-old son about this market. “There are some cryptocurrencies that I buy just for fun and some others for the experience. [I do it] because I want to learn,” he said.

However, the acceptance of Dogecoin in Cuban businesses goes beyond the aforementioned statements. At the beginning of March, the Dallas Mavericks decided to accept Dogecoin as payment for the tickets and the merchandising of the team.

The co-host of the reality television show “Shark Tank” said that business sometimes has to be fun and attractive. He added that they hope, by accepting to use Dogecoin, to generate a lot of public relations.

By Alexander Salazar

The entity will test the issuance, distribution, and redemption of its digital currency. They will run phase-1 tests from now until March 2022.

Currently, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) seeks to move forward with the creation of its central bank digital currency (CBDC). For that reason, it has started to run a phase-1 proof of concept behind its digital yen.

The issuing entity of the Japanese currency will study the basic aspects and functionality of its CBDC. They recently made this report about that first phase through a statement.

Since January of 2021, the Bank of Japan has been preparing to start experiments with its CBDC. According to the statement, they will start the first phase of the tests given that the preparations are complete.

They will start running the testing phase, which will last for one year until March 2022. During that time, the Japanese financial authority will test “the technical feasibility of the basic functions and characteristics required for the CBDC.”

The Financial Authority Experiments with Fundamental Aspects of Its CBDC

The entity will develop a test environment that allows it to experiment with fundamental aspects of its future digital currency. These features include the issuance, distribution, and redemption of funds, according to the text.

The launch of a testing ecosystem for the digital yen shows a major advance in Japan’s explorations of digital currencies. Around a year ago, the Asian country studied the technical feasibility of a hypothetical digital yen, which is now taking shape.

The BoJ noted that it was seeking the possibility of a currency that would have the same functions as cash. To achieve this, they had to develop “a payment method that anyone can use safely and reliably anywhere, anytime.”

Central Banks Have Their CBDC on Their Agenda

Japan is advancing in the creation of its CBDC, but it remains behind China, the main power in Asia. The Chinese authorities have already progressed in various stages to test their digital yuan. People have already used it commercially in several controlled scenarios.

The Chinese authorities have distributed its digital currency among thousands of inhabitants to experiment with it in a real trading environment. For this reason, it already seems very close to its official launch, an issue that most of the world’s central banks have on their agenda.

Countries Outside of China Are Interested in Creating Their CBDCs

Other countries are currently developing their CBDCs or digital versions of their national fiat currencies. The most prominent include the United States, Canada, Brazil, and the Eastern Caribbean. The central bank of the latter distributed a CBDC among four countries in the area: Antigua and Barbuda, Nevis and Saint Lucia, Grenada, and Saint Christopher.

Apart from the Bank of Japan’s initiative, the private sector has also joined the wave of interest in digital currencies. For example, financial group Mitsubishi UFJ and staffing agency Recruit Group announced the creation of their digital currency in the middle of 2020.

By Alexander Salazar

The financial institution considers that CBDCs could validate the use of cryptocurrencies as a store of value. The universal basic income (UBI) and stimulus checks serve as incentives for inflation.

The Bank of America recently wrote a report on the distribution of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) to stimulate the economy. They said that these assets can aggravate inflation in the countries that apply these measures.

Due to the crisis that the COVID-19 pandemic caused, there have been frequent artificial stimuli to the fiduciary economy. The destruction of jobs, the closure of businesses, and the impact of world markets have also contributed to this situation.

Central Banks View CBDCs as a Solution to the Shortage of Cash

Central banks have approached national digital currencies as a solution to the shortage of physical money. They also seek to use them to bring the economy to electronic platforms. For that reason, users may be concerned about the operation of monetary policies.

The report from the Bank of America is entitled “Digital Love: Central Bank Digital Currencies”. It indicates that CBDCs could be easily transferable to their creditors both nationally and internationally.

For this reason, inflation expectations could boost demand for cryptocurrencies as a store of value. However, the report does not mention Bitcoin (BTC) or other cryptocurrencies, but the ability of states to distribute CBDC. The Bank of America considers that the latter situation will create conditions that lead to monetary inflation.

“The disruption of cryptocurrencies is pushing central banks to ensure their dominant role in the management and execution of payments. They also seek to guarantee their ability to supervise other banks and conduct monetary policies,” said the Bank of America.

The Evolution of CBDCs May Contribute to Increase the Level of Inflation

The financial institution stated that CBDCs represent the next frontier for central bank stimuli. These incentives include measures such as stimulus checks, emergency loan programs, the universal basic income (UBI), and increasingly powerful money drops. They also said that the evolution of CBDCs may increase inflation expectations, boosting inflationary assets during this decade.

Given that governments could have access to information on people’s financial activity, the report also considers the risks to user privacy. For example, various members of the DAO can scrutinize profiles to verify whether they are human. If they wrongly brand a profile as fake, they may risk losing part of the user’s assets.

Several countries are planning to issue their CBDCs and are at different stages of development. China is the most advanced in this regard since it has already run several tests. Its financial authorities have even launched a digital wallet for the digital version of its fiat currency.

Other countries having similar initiatives include the United States, Canada, Brazil, and the Eastern Caribbean. The most recent case is Japan, which is working on the development of its digital yen. They are even starting to run a phase-1 proof of concept.

By Alexander Salazar

The main goal is to consolidate a public finance investment and support competitiveness. The United States of America is already sustaining several discussions with other members of the G20.

Janet Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury of the United States of America, plans to present a project to impulse a global minimum corporate tax. The initiative arises with the purpose of the financing part of the infrastructure mega-plan that President Joe Biden is promoting and needs a favorable international economic context.

According to Axios, one of the main fundaments of the project is that, through this international tax, companies could avoid moving or declaring their taxes in other countries with lower taxes or even tax-havens. In this way, both competitiveness and the flow to the public coffers would face an improvement.

Biden’s goal is to raise corporate taxes from the current 21% to 28% in the United States of America; once the Donald Trump administration began, the tax rate was 35%. Also, U.S companies will have to pay a 21% withholding of income from their activities abroad. This improvement might represent an increase of 9.5% in comparison to the current rate.

The Road to an International Minimum Tax for Companies

The Government is already in continuous discussion with other G20 countries to reach a final agreement on companies’ international minimum tax. Yellen’s mission is to convince ministers that big economies need to act together to avoid significant losses in other countries.

According to Axios, the announcement took place at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, where Yellen stated that “the premise is that governments have tax systems that allow them to obtain revenue to finance investment in public goods and respond to crises.”

Yellen’s Position Regarding Bitcoin

The preferred alternative that governments have chosen to deal with the current financial crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic has been the inorganic increase in monetary issuance. The consequent devaluation of national currencies has reinforced the reputation of bitcoin (BTC) as a store of value and a point of assistance against inflation.

The current Secretary of the Treasury has already spoken about the first cryptocurrency. In November 2020, after the news of Yellen’s appointment to her position went to the public, the economist’s low esteem for bitcoin (BTC) and crypto-assets, in general, came to light.

In public statements and several forums, the now American official made clear her position against the lack of stability in bitcoin and the large number of illicit operations that, according to her, cryptocurrencies allow.

However, she has recently been more open about cryptocurrency. In January 2021, Yellen talked to the Senate Finance Committee that cryptocurrencies about the capabilities of improvement in the financial system’s efficiency.” She also saw bitcoin as the potential asset to improve transactions on a global scale.

Janet Yellen, the senior official, said back in February that bitcoin may be an asset as well as an investment. Still, it will not become a means of payment because “it is very inefficient.”

By: Jenson Nuñez