Podcasting 2.0 proposes to release the content of the advertising to make it available to the public. Lightning Network and bitcoin can become the economic engine of podcast growth.

Breez Technology announced that the creation of a support network for podcasters is on its way. To do this network, Breez has launched a platform that allows you to play podcasts and donate bitcoins (BTC) instantly through its Lightning wallet without custody.

Roy Sheinfeld, CEO of Breez, published a text on March 23, in which he raises questions about what would happen if users could transmit payments with bitcoin in the same way that they transmit media. The answer he sustains revolves around how Lightning payments can benefit podcasters.

This reason leads Breez to push a release. The network will appear in the beta version for iPhone or iPad, an application that plays an essential role in the movement called Podcasting 2.0.

Podcasting 2.0 is a New Alternative

Podcasting 2.0 is a way to listen to podcasts without ads allowing the user to directly support the content he hears, with micropayments in bitcoin in a super fast and cheap way through Lightning.

Podcasting with an instant payment system like the Lightning Network is something very innovative. The creators of this content become self-sufficient and monetize themselves. This self-monetizing system is the primary goal of the Podcasting 2.0 movement launched by Breez.

The company raises the initiative as a solution to monetization and as a way to free content from large centralized streaming platforms, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or even Anchor.

Podcasting 2.0 charges a percentage of a podcaster’s ad revenue to connect them with advertisers who can withdraw supportive funds at any time, limiting creativity and independence for creators,” says Sheinfeld, who also highlights how censorship is affecting this industry.

On the other hand, Sheinfeld desires that the BTC micropayments platform would support podcasters and soon become a formula to expand Lightning’s P2P economy. Calculations roots in that 37% of Americans listen to a podcast at least once a month and a quarter listens to it weekly.

How Does the Breez app Work?

Sheinfeld describes Breez’s Podcasting 2.0 movement as a platform for audiences to represent their claps or likes to the show through sats.

This strategy works because users can find podcasts, subscribe to them, transfer bitcoin payments at lightning speed, and send suggestions in real-time to have inclusive participation in creating and broadcasting certain content.

While listening, users can also use the app to propose how many sats per minute the podcast they are listening to should receive. Paying 3,000 sats for an hour-long episode, the user would set a rate of 50 sats per minute. Users can also set the speed to zero to listen to free content, as described in the Breez post.

The tool, natively integrated into the Breez wallet, has three characteristics. The first is a kind of podcast catalog where users can find their favorites.

By: Jenson Nuñez

The monetary authority still has doubts about the characteristics of this type of issuance. In Mexico, the debate on CBDCs between the authorities remains at an early stage.

Roberto Campos Neto, the governor of the Central Bank of Brazil, talked about a discussion on a CBDC (central bank digital currency) in that country. The economist said that they still need to define details about its issuance but the debate is in its culmination phase.

“We are at an advanced stage in the process of developing a CBDC in Brazil. I think the project involves some questions that have not received any answers yet,” said the executive.

Campos Neto considers that doubts are surrounding the type of issuance that the CBDC would have. The authorities seem not to have defined the characteristics of the supply and the exclusiveness of the central bank to issue it.

The debate that the bank is conducting concentrates on a working group that the institution announced in August 2020. At that time, Brazil was setting the standard in the Latin America region concerning CBDCs.

The group proposes to follow a model for issuing the “digital real”, identify risk factors, promote financial inclusion, and safeguard user information. Although Campos Neto did not offer a tentative date for presenting the report, he said that digital currencies have “various consequences” for monetary policy.

Mexico Interested in CBDC, but Not in a Hurry

Alejandro Díaz de León, Governor of the Bank of Mexico, also talked about digital currencies of central banks. However, the official did it from a more distant issuance perspective, saying that it is not just a question of doing it or not. He explains that the discussion focuses on knowing how and when to do it.

“The main aspects to deal with are the needs of consumers and their protection. We have to see the best technological solution for this. DLTs (distributed ledger technologies) have the power to provide a solution since they are not centralized,” said the executive.

Independently on Mexico’s path regarding CBDCs, it is all a matter of money, according to Díaz de León. For that reason, he commented that the role of the central bank should be fundamental. The governor considers that a “digital peso” would just be an extension of the currency that the State already provides. However, this new form of Mexico’s national fiat currency will show a “different face to users.”

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), as the coordinating agency for central banks around the world, is promoting the creation of CBDCs. In recent days, the institution presented new platforms to transfer digital currencies. They gave explanations about Helvetia, for payments with tokenized assets between banks, and Rio, for the massive transmission and analysis of data.

China and Lithuania, among other countries, already have advanced their CBDC projects. The Asian country is leading the race for the issuance of central bank digital currencies. This new form of completely digitized and programmable money is theoretically under issuance control.

By Alexander Salazar

Including the rest of the cryptocurrencies, there was a USD 2.18 billion settlement in 24 hours. The pioneering cryptocurrency has fallen from USD 58,000 to USD 51,000 in the past few days.

In just 24 hours, the price of Bitcoin (BTC) fell below USD 52,000, going down by 10%. That drop has brought the pioneering cryptocurrency to levels from a couple of weeks ago. Besides, it caused the liquidation of more than USD 1 billion in open positions on various derivatives platforms.

According to data from ByBt, there was a total liquidation of USD 1,020 million in long positions in that period. That happened on the various exchanges that allow trading with Bitcoin futures.

There was a drop of close to USD 500 million on Binance alone in that period. On the ByBit platform, widely used for these operations, there was a liquidation of almost USD 300 million in Bitcoin futures.

Long positions represent a bet on the rise of price in a certain range in the futures market. The credit granted by the house leverages these negotiations, thus allowing higher profits than in spot trading.

If the price goes in the opposite direction to the position that the trader opens, there is a risk of liquidation and capital loss in favor of the house. This is what happened with the above-mentioned positions, which were betting on the price rise when it fell.

A Settlement above USD 2,000 Million in the Entire Market

The cryptocurrency market has historically gone in the direction that Bitcoin takes. For that reason, the main altcoins have accompanied the fall of the first cryptocurrency, also causing multi-million-dollar settlements.

There were other losses of USD 1 billion in long positions on other cryptocurrencies. Among them are Ether (ETH), Binance Coin (BBNB), Cardano (ADA), and Polkadot (DOT). By adding all the currencies, having open futures markets, and the losses in Bitcoin, the figure reaches USD 2.18 billion.

Just between ETH, DOT, and Ripple’s XRP cryptocurrency, there was a settlement of more than USD 500 million in 24 hours.

Many of these traders were probably expecting a bounce that would send Bitcoin back to flirting with USD 60,000. However, the fall of BTC, as well as that of the other cryptocurrencies, took them by surprise.

Settlement of Bitcoin Options and Outlook for the Future

The recent price action of Bitcoin could be part of a pattern. According to influencer @juanbiter, since October, Bitcoin has maintained a similar behavior when major settlements approach the options market.

That pattern has been one of a sideways (or bearish) behavior of the price of Bitcoin. The liquidity providers of these markets are pushing for the cryptocurrency to reach a price that suits them at the closing of contracts.

This time, the target price is around USD 44,000 per BTC, as they predict. That number still seems a long way off as BTC is above USD 52,000, but it has dropped by more than 12% this week.

The forecast seems to coincide with still optimistic estimates within this bullish cycle. After the drops and the contract closing date, Bitcoin has risen by as much as 30% in the following weeks.

According to various analysts, the cryptocurrency that Satoshi Nakamoto created will hit all-time highs between USD 100,000 and USD 300,000 this year. A boost similar to those of previous months, following the expiration of contracts, would take Bitcoin to USD 70,000 very soon.

By Alexander Salazar

Snowden firmly believes privacy is the most relevant aspect of a business like this, and governments don’t respect people’s data. Reddit users questioned Snowden’s words against bitcoin.

The American technology consultant Edward Snowden stated that the biggest problem currently facing bitcoin (BTC) relates to its Lack of privacy during user transactions.

The former employee of the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States made this questioning during the Priv8 Virtual Privacy summit, planned by the cryptocurrency project Orchid. Snowden clearly expressed his support for the Zcash cryptocurrency.

“Bitcoin Sucks in Many Ways, Such as Financial Privacy”

During his speech, Snowden pointed out that “the concept of privacy is important to protect people from being under exploitation, especially when governments around the world are indiscreet with people’s data.”

According to the report by Steve Juvertson, CEO of investment firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Snowden also made other relevant considerations regarding privacy:

 “What is the purpose of privacy? Why is your loss dangerous? Privacy defends the right to the consultation that leads to progress. Privacy is not for hiding but to protect. It protects the right to think differently.”

Snowden’s Onslaught against Bitcoin’s Lack of privacy is not a Recent Topic

He added that the government hasn’t hesitated about spending the wealth of a generation that will never enjoy its fruits. Snowden’s onslaught against bitcoin’s Lack of privacy is not a recent topic. The former consultant has been making these statements for two consecutive years.

Snowden even participated in the Bitcoin 2019 conference, highlighting the importance of privacy as a fundamental pillar for people’s freedom. He adhered to a very resonant argument, citing that Lack of confidentiality is an existential threat to bitcoin, and it is the only protection that users have against political strikes.

Snowden is not so friendly with the Internet

Snowden, who got in trouble back in 2013 for releasing secret documents about some National Security Agency (NSA) programs, also attacked the Internet. The defender of freedom of expression expressed in this event that the Internet is a broken place, mainly because it reflects a broken society.

The comments that Snowden made against bitcoin don’t work in an objective or unbiased way. The free speech activist and politically persecuted has openly expressed his support for the cryptocurrency Zcash, over and above bitcoin.

Reddit Users Stood Against Snowden’s Opinion Regarding Bitcoin

Reddit users questioned Snowden’s statements during the Virtual Privacy Priv8 summit about what he thinks about bitcoin’s Lack of privacy.

One of them said that: he doesn’t think many people consider bitcoin private. It is pretty and widely known that bitcoin completes its operations on a public blockchain. The transactions are also shared. A massive number of users find that the level of privacy that bitcoin offers is well enough.

Snowden’s statements against bitcoin don’t stop the first cryptocurrency from keeping its domain in the crypto world. Its price dances around USD 52 thousand, with a trading volume of USD 83 billion.

By: Jenson Nuñez

Bitcoin is already available as a payment method in the United States, then this year in other countries. Tesla guards its BTC and runs nodes on the Bitcoin network, according to Musk.

Tesla does not limit itself to bitcoin (BTC), now is betting squarely on cryptocurrency as a means of payment and store of value. Elon Musk, CEO of the electric vehicle company, announced: “you can now buy a Tesla with Bitcoin,” adding that the payments received by the company in BTC will remain under protection with this currency.

Through his Twitter account, the current most prosperous businessman in the world explained that Bitcoin payments are already active in the United States and will be active outside that country this year.

Under the Current Price of Just Over $ 55,000 per Bitcoin, a Tesla X Would Range between 1.4 and 1.8 BTC, Depending on the car’s Features

Musk also said that every “bitcoin paid to Tesla would remain to be bitcoin, it will not face any conversion to fiat currency.” This statement means that the money will not suffer a conversion to dollars or euros. In the recently enabled Bitcoin section on its website, the company clarifies that it does not accept other cryptocurrencies.

Musk explained that the company uses its open-source software to grant safety its funds in BTC instead of intermediaries such as exchanges or custody services. With this, they appeal to respect the maxim among bitcoin users: They are not your keys. They are not your bitcoins.

Tesla is also operating its own Bitcoin network nodes, Musk added on the social network. With these statements, the executive signals a broad interest, on his part and the company he leads, towards Bitcoin as a technology.

Last February, Tesla invested about 1.5 billion dollars in the leading cryptocurrency on the market, in addition to anticipating that the company would receive bitcoin as a means of payment for their items.

The investment happened in January. The company acquired around 48,000 BTC for its reserves, according to records from Bitcoin Treasuries. Tesla’s bitcoins increased its appreciations by more than $ 1 billion and are currently worth $ 2.58 billion.

This way intended to relocate excess money into the company into an asset that could function as a value store. A bet that many companies have been making in recent months.

Bitcoin and it is Worth as a Value Store

Musk is always into the crypto environment. The businessman has often dedicated himself to pushing another cryptocurrency’s popularity, DOGE, and sending its price unexpectedly to new all-time highs.

The company that Musk runs perfectly knows the advantages of investing in other digital assets in addition to bitcoin. However, so far, they have not taken new steps in that direction, and their investment portfolio only limits the first cryptocurrency on the market.

Tesla has also joined the wave of institutional investors who see Satoshi Nakamoto’s creation as a functional tool as a store of value. With MicroStrategy and its nearly 100,000 BTC was leading the way, many attribute bitcoin’s current bulls run to the injection of capital from large companies.

Bitcoin has doubled in price, at times reaching USD 60,000. Currently, cryptocurrency ranks as the eighth-most valuable asset in the world, according to CompaniesMarketCap, staying above a trillion dollars of market capitalization.

By: Jenson Nuñez

Uniswap v3 will launch the new version of the platform to segment the markets’ liquidity on May 5.

Uniswap will launch the third version (V3) of its platform, an update that focuses on upgrading and optimizing the performance and capital liquidity in this decentralized market. On the white paper of Uniswap v3, users can read a definition of the upcoming platform:

“Uniswap v3 is an automated non-custodial market maker implemented on the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Compared to previous versions of the protocol, Uniswap v3 provides greater capital efficiency and fine control of liquidity, improves the accuracy and relevance of the price oracle, with a more flexible structure”.

Its third version will be available on May 5, 2021, and this is the indicated date in the announcement, which also reveals other relevant details about this new version. In Uniswap v3, the liquidity pool participants in the many different markets that work there will pick the range of the exchange price in which they would place capital as a contribution.

The decentralized applications whose exchanges work on Uniswap enable creating a token market that uses a liquidity pool or liquidity pool. This capital, which facilitates the liquidity of the exchanges, is, in turn, a provision from other participants who earn commissions for blocking their funds.

Many of these Applications Offer high Returns to those Providing Liquidity

On the other hand, in most Uniswap token pairs, which work based on smart contracts, this liquidity gets blockage for a not too long time. This action happens to prevent liquidity providers from unexpectedly withdrawing their capital from the pool because a decision like that would seriously hurt the market, especially in the realm of decentralized finance (DeFi).

In the upcoming Uniswap upgrade, liquidity providers will now gain the ability to contribute their capital only in a selected price range. A pool participant would provide liquidity only to exchanges that occur on a given price curve, such as between 2 and 3 ETH per token.

Outside of that price range, the liquidity pool could not sell the tokens for ETH to other users, which would be an impermanent loss, on which the price of the asset could fall without a bottom.

Uniswap Clarifies that Liquidity Providers Might Serve as Contributors to Different Price Ranges of their Platform

This efficiency could at the same time pave the way for the so-called slippage, which is a percentage price range that configures itself as permissible at the same time it is making an exchange. This percentage is the variation that a buyer is willing to accept when placing the token’s purchase order.

During times of high volatility, where the price of assets fluctuates so fast, users have no idea how to explain the situation. It is usual to increase the slippage percentage, so achieving a Defi token’s purchase or sale happens at the desired price range.

By: Jenson Nuñez