The multinational company hopes to expand teaching methods using digital alternatives.

The renowned multinational company IBM launched a new technological platform to learn about Blockchain technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Cybersecurity. Open P-TECH is an online learning platform that makes various pedagogical alternatives available to users. In this way. They could learn more about the latest in global technology.

The new learning tool seeks to train users to new future challenges, which include 4.0 technology and digital financial alternatives. The platform also hopes to involve most of the Latin American communities, among others.

Spokespersons of the multinational announced the launch of the platform that will include versions in Portuguese, English, and Spanish. The announced was made during the company’s annual conference, called IBM Think, which was held virtually this year.

Open P-TECH will be a new educational space aimed at young people between the ages of 14 and 20. The platform will also include adaptable tools for educators and teachers who need to refresh their knowledge of the mentioned areas. In this way, the platform offers various courses related to new technologies and their applications to current life and in the future.

Arvind Krishna, IBM Executive President, commented that the coronavirus quarantine can become a trigger for major technological changes worldwide. For this reason, the company considers that it is necessary to offer excellent educational alternatives that are responsible for training the youngest.

“As the pandemic accelerates digital transformation, new ways of learning must keep pace if we are to equip all young people with skills relevant to the digital era and marketplace”, the Executive President said.

The platform offers young people new ways to share badges or certification documents on social networks for professionals who are looking for future jobs, adapting their curriculum to new work alternatives. On the other hand, educators could find a new way to connect with their students and take ideas that can expand their knowledge or teaching classes.

P-TECH is an educational platform that IBM recently launched. This tool seeks to impart the latest in global technology systems. Launched in 2011, it currently manages to include 220 schools, with more than 150,000 students in 24 countries around the world.

This new adaptation to digital spaces hopes to expand the educational range and reach many more students, which would help strengthen economic aspects in countries with more vulnerable communities, the company said.

The statement mentions that it is the company’s responsibility to carry out the work of preparing new generations for the technological changes that will be part of the jobs in the future.

“IBM believes that companies bringing advanced technologies to market have a responsibility to prepare students and workers for the way those technologies will shape jobs and the nature of our work. Innovation should unlock opportunities to make our workforce more inclusive, not less”, IBM newsroom details.

This would be another opportunity to boost the adoption of blockchain technology as one of the current and most important new technologies in the world.

By María Rodríguez

The investigation determined that the global economy would be at risk if a global stablecoin fails.

The European Central Bank (ECB) recently released a report revealing an investigation to determine the impact of stablecoins on the global economy. ECB’s conclusions reveal that it could be risky to implement a global system based on stablecoin; this is because if the system suffers failures, the consequences for the economy would be high.

The economic instability that would arise due to a failure in the support systems of the digital currency, would put the established economic markets at risk. The document expresses the alert for the assumption of determining the use of a single stablecoin for the world.

Matteo Cominetta, Christoph Kaufmann, Mitsutoshi Adachi, and Anton van der Kraaij were the researches who conducted the study and titled the work as “A regulatory and financial stability perspective on global stablecoins”. The objective of this project was to determine the risks in the adoption of this technology and its implications in the world economy.

When concluding the research, the authors determined that, although this technology could establish fast and low-cost payment systems, adopting it could bring great challenges in the future.

The study contemplated different examples to know what could occur after systems like these are established. In this sense, the researchers evaluated Facebook’s Libra project and the processes it conducts for the activation and operation of the digital currency.

“If a stablecoin arrangement reaches a global scale, its malfunctioning could pose risks to the financial system. The asset management function of a global stablecoin arrangement could be similar in substance to a global money market fund whose shares are held by retail users (…) To reap their potential benefits without undermining financial stability, we must ensure that stablecoin arrangements do not operate in a regulatory vacuum”, the study says.

According to the research, the European Central Bank approves the use of stablecoins. However, the bank highlights that it is necessary to improve the regulatory systems that govern electronic money, as well as the scope of operations, technological specifications, and basic legal details to adapt to the current economic system.

Besides, the financial institution also determined that regulatory systems should not cover other similar technological projects as a preventive measure. This is because, if the global stablecoin fails, the impact would be less as there are fewer projects that the legal system supports.

Libra Generates Alarm in the World

Governments and international regulatory bodies have spoken, more than once, against the implementation of a single global currency as an asset. Libra, the digital currency that Facebook is preparing, would be able to make exchanges regardless of the country. It will not need to be covered by banking institutions. This situation has turned on the alarms worldwide regarding the possible use of this type of technology.

Although the Libra project is still ongoing, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook commented, during a hearing before the United States Congress, that conducting this project was a high risk, but that they would not operate Libra if regulatory agencies do not allow it.

The community considers Libra as a stablecoin that anyone can use to make cross-border payments, using some electronic means. This is something that could be positive for some users but, at the same time, somewhat worrying for the authorities.

By María Rodríguez

Researchers note that most XRP transactions are similar to DoS attacks. Almost all the traffic on the EOS and Tezos networks lack value.

According to a study conducted by experts of the Imperial College London, Just 2% of the transactions in the big distributed ledger of Ripple (XRP) are equivalent to transfers that contain a value. When tracking the operations on the network, they found that, among a large number of processed transactions, most cannot be considered valid.

In the document, researchers Daniel Pérez, Jiahua Xu, and Benjamin Livshits, as well as Ripple, analyzed the transactions on the EOS, and Tezos networks between October 1^st and December 31^st, 2019. On Ripple alone, they observed more than 43,000 million processed transactions, which they proved to a great extent to contain spam or a token that still do not have any value in the market. In their conclusions, the researchers highlighted that both the volume of transactions and the value of XRP can be easily manipulated.

The team also found that millions of transactions were conducted on the EOS network, many coming from decentralized game applications and gambling websites. However, even so, 95% of the operations were activated to run a token without any value, as they stated.

In the case of Tezos, 82% of the flow was used to maintain the consensus. Millions of transactions were conducted on all the networks. In other words, the XRP, EOS, and Tezos networks are good in terms of processing capacity and can manage millions of transactions. However, the problem is that these transactions do not have any value.

The experts also observed that in the three months that it took them to complete the study, 90,000 accounts conducted 150 million different transactions. However, half of all this traffic had its origin in a few accounts, just with the idea of encouraging transactions among them, even wasting money on fees. For that reason, they note that most of the transactions conducted on the EOS and XRP networks are similar to DoS attacks.

A DoS (Denial of Service) attack is a computer attack consisting of mass requests to a server (computer network) that saturate it and affect its availability to other users. In that sense, a large number of spam e-mails can be sent to a certain server (like that of a company) to make its webpage and services collapse.

In the light of all this information, the researchers conclude that, regardless of the state of the XRP, EOS and Tezos blockchains in terms of processing capacity, they have not yet been able to exploit its potential.

The Ripple network recorded a drop of 87% in XRP sales in the first quarter of 2020, compared to the previous quarter, according to recent information. Besides, a little known company, located in Puerto Rico, has been to court because of Ripple, accusing the blockchain firm of making a sale of non-registered securities.

By Alexander Salazar

The cyber attackers are requesting the financial institution to install high-security systems. The criminals have already published 240 credit card numbers.

A group of hackers, called “Maze Ranzomware,” claim to have accessed the systems of the Bank of Costa Rica (BCR). They reportedly extracted millions of data about users’ accounts and credit cards. The cybercriminals are demanding a ransom in order not to expose the information that they have in their possession.

Last May 1^st, BCR denied that their security system had been the object of hacking. They even stated that they have exhaustively verified their technological platform. Likewise, they said that they had activated their protocols, including links to other national and international institutions, and determined that it was just an extortion attempt.

However, the cybercriminals claim to have attacked the Bank of Costa Rica on two other occasions in the last eight months. They said that they compromised the financial institution in August 2019, when they stole credentials and other sensible data. After that, they attacked it last February and they are now posting a series of messages on the social networks.

The criminals stated that they may sell that information in the dark market for several million US dollars. However, the Maze team is not selling the private information in the dark market or stealing users’ money. They say that they are trying to focus on the security gaps affecting the Bank of Costa Rica, as well as other financial institutions whose credit cards were processed by BCR.

After allowing some time for the institution to reply to their request, and given the inaction by the managers of the entity, the group decided to publish 240 credit card numbers without the last four digits. As part of what they are requesting from the bank is the installation of high-security systems to protect its network.

Banks vs. Bitcoin

Banks are responsible for safeguarding not only their customers’ money but also their data. Although they provide a balance of the movements of the funds, they never explain what they do with private data. Financial institutions need to give consumers more control over their data and provide more information about how they use private information.

Bitcoin’s decentralized network establishes a new value relationship that contrasts with the one that banks traditionally offer. It represents more power over assets and private data, part of the offer of decentralized alternatives, which allow the user to operate privately and transparently.

To operate on the Bitcoin network, it is not necessary to provide personal data. Therefore, it is impossible to know, at first glance, who owns the wallet. Network users have an address (public key), which is not identified with a name, and it is impossible to relate it to a particular person unless that person decides to reveal his or her address.

During the eleven years that Bitcoin has existed, no one has ever been able to hack its blockchain. No central server maintains balances, passwords, or user names. Besides, each user has his or her keys (private keys), which is the only way to transfer funds.

By Alexander Salazar

The first-born cryptocurrency has exhibited a growth by 36% in the past weeks. Its dominance n the market has risen to 67% with a market capitalization of USD 182 billion.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) exceeded the USD-10,000 barrier during the night of Thursday, May 7^th, just four days before the third halving, or reduction by half, of the issuance of the cryptocurrency in its system.

The price of the cryptocurrency reached this all-time high once after February 19^th this year, when it traded around USD 10,186 per unit, according to data from Messario.

At the time of writing this article, its price is USD 10,016, with a market capitalization higher than USD 182,000 million and a dominance of 67%, compared to the rest of the cryptocurrencies.

The approach of the halving event could be influencing the increase in the price of Bitcoin, whose issuance will go from 12.5 BTC per block mined to 6.25 BTC. This represents a reduction of 50% in the incentives that miners receive for verifying and registering the transactions on the network.

In a period of 24 hours, Bitcoin appreciated by 9.02%, whilst the rest of the cryptocurrencies also gained ground last Thursday, May 7^th. Ether (ETH) traded at USD 212.99 per unit (2.13%), XRP is exchanging at USD 0.218374 per unit (0.17%), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) had an advance of 1.28% for a price of USD 253, and Bitcoin SV maintains a trading price of USD 209.

On the Rise since Its Dramatic Drop

The price of Bitcoin has exhibited an upward trend since it fell below USD 4,000 last March 12^th. The world now knows that day as “Black Thursday,” since the price dropped by more than 40% after the World Health Organization (WHO) decreed a pandemic due to the spread of the coronavirus.

Since it reached the bottom almost two months ago, Bitcoin has shown a significant recovery despite the global economic situation. Generalized quarantines and semi-paralyzed economies have given evidence of negative figures in most countries.

Last April 29^th, the first cryptocurrency broke the USD 8,000, practically recovering 100% of the losses that it had in March.

The same as the approach of the halving, which is reportedly encouraging Bitcoin’s bullish trend, historical data show that the trading price could recede after the event occurs. It is important to remember that the reduction by half of the issuance of coin occurs every 210,000 blocks of the Bitcoin network or about every four years.

Some analysts have stated that the behavior of Bitcoin will show higher levels of volatility in the months to come. Likewise, they said that an economic recession could cause the price of the first cryptocurrency to fall.

The Bitcoin community has seen the cryptocurrency fall and rise many times since it was born. It has proved to be able to overcome any kind of crisis, like the current world pandemic due to the spread of the COVID-19 disease. By learning more about the behavior of this cryptocurrency, holders will know the best time to sell or buy.

By Alexander Salazar

CoinShare researched on the 5 most widely accepted theories about the halving today. There are expectations that the halving will positively affect Bitcoin’s price in the medium or long term.

On May 4^th, CoinShare conducted a study that explains the 5 most mentioned theories about what could happen to Bitcoin after the halving.

The first theory says that “the halving will cause a death spiral in Bitcoin mining.” Christopher Bendiksen, author of the study, explained that there will be a halving of the reward or a drop in Bitcoin’s price, decreasing the miners’ profitability dramatically.

Miners would disconnect their equipment, leading the network hash rate to decrease, which would cause the confirmation of transaction blocks to occur over very long periods. Even though this scenario merits concern, it is highly unlikely to occur, according to Bendiksen.

Bitcoin mining difficulty is adjusted every 2,016 blocks, so in a scenario like the one described users would only have to wait for the difficulty to fall. Another reason to consider the thesis unlikely is that Bitcoin has already experienced 2 sharp drops in its price, but the network is still operating.

Expected Positive Scenario

The second theory says that the ratio of stock to flow will cause upward pressure on the price. Bitcoin’s stock-to-flow ratio is the inverse of inflation, that is, the cryptocurrency’s current reserves divided by its annual output.

Statistically speaking, the said ratio and Bitcoin’s price history are 95% correlated. Safedean Ammous popularized this theory in the Bitcoin context, and anonymous quantitative researcher “PlanB” formalized it as a statistical model.

Until now, no studies can falsify the results obtained by the stock-to-flow ratio. When putting it into practice, the theory says that after each halving the ratio doubles, along with the price of the model. Currently, the model states that Bitcoin’s price will reach USD 100 thousand, at least once, in 2021.

The third theory indicates that “traders who have been buying the rumors will sell the news.” This hypothesis indicates that there is a speculative demand in Bitcoin’s current price due to bullish expectations after the halving.

Traders would seek to encourage bearish sentiment in the market so that Bitcoin reaches a low price. Upon meeting their goal, traders would buy large amounts of the cryptocurrency waiting for Bitcoin to regain bullish momentum.

Possible Combined Scenarios

The fourth theory suggests a drop in Bitcoin’s price due to the additional sale of bitcoins by miners. When Bitcoin’s price is high enough, miners can cover mining costs without having to sell their coins. When Bitcoin’s price does not allow them to cover these costs, they can sell the mined coins and even their stock reserves.

This scenario, together with a sudden drop in Bitcoin’s price like that of March, could be the catalyst for bearish momentum. However, the halving is a known event, so miners can prepare in advance to interact with the market.

Another important aspect is that a sudden drop in price does not offer relief to miners’ continued sale. However, the reduction by half of the flow of coins by 50% does.

The fifth and last theory implies that the halving will be “a big fat-free hamburger,” at least initially. With this last scenario, users state that nothing unusual will happen in terms of price fluctuations or Bitcoin technical terms. According to the analysis, the daily volatility of Bitcoin’s price is between 1% and 5%. Consequently, any volatility in those ranges would not be considered out of the ordinary.

CoinShare considers that the halving is unlikely to have a major impact on Bitcoin’s price in the short term. Furthermore, they note that any change in the balance between supply and demand will take time to occur.

By Alexander Salazar