Dash Expands in Venezuela

Willmen Blanco
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Dash Expands in Venezuela

More than 800 stores accept Dash in the country, which occupies first place worldwide. The oil-producing nation concentrates 30% of the total Dash Android wallets.

The current economic crisis in Venezuela is forcing many people to seek new payment methods such as Dash, in view of the devaluation of the bolivar. Since 2018, this cryptocurrency has shown evidence of growth in the country with advertising, marketing and the activation of various independent groups encouraging its use.

Initiatives such as Dash Maracaibo, Dash Costas de Aragua, Dash Latam, Dash Venezuela, Dash Maracay and Dash Cabimas, are some of the groups, funded in part by Dash’s treasury, that operate in Caracas and other cities to execute projects and promote greater adoption of Dash and cryptocurrencies in general.

According to DiscoverDash.com, there are over 800 businesses processing transactions with this cryptocurrency, which places Venezuela above the United States, Colombia, Austria, France, Nigeria and Germany, among others. It is also striking that Venezuela concentrates around 30% of the total Dash Android wallets.

Measuring the number of wallets and businesses that accepted the cryptocurrency at the beginning of 2018, it was found that Dash had virtually no presence in Venezuela. However, since August 2019 the country has accounted for about 30% of Dash Android wallets worldwide.

Ernesto Contreras, business development manager of Dash Core Group in Latin America, explained that the crypto world is paying attention to Venezuela. Although its economic and geopolitical situation is complicated, cryptocurrencies have proved to have the potential to solve several of the problems of the country.

Funding System

The national deployment of the groups is partially financed by Dash’s treasury, a fund to which 10% of the mining reward of this cryptocurrency is allocated. To access resources and commit them to projects, advertising, events or marketing, enthusiasts must submit a proposal at dashcentral.org and receive their approval.

The approval comes from the operators of the master nodes, who have voting power in their governance system through the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) protocol. In this way, different initiatives have been born worldwide, as well as in Venezuela.

This mechanism has allowed creating groups from Valencia, in the center of the country, to western Venezuela. That is the case of Dash Maracaibo, which is based in Zulia state, about 435 miles west of Caracas.

The region is the most affected by the crisis, with electricity rationing of 12 hours a day, as well as shortage of cash, fuel and medicines. However, it is an opportunity to take advantage of a greater adoption of Dash, regardless of the fact that it is not so simple.

Joney Castellanos, of Dash Maracaibo, said that it is necessary to explain to users how to register on an exchange platform, place the data or find who has a price. Dash Maracaibo’s work goes to the level of convincing them of why it is much more practical to use cryptocurrencies.

Among the aspects that hinder the expansion of Dash is that most cryptocurrency-related contents are in English. For this reason, the groups try to deliver as much information in Spanish as possible to explain their governance system. Another obstacle is telecommunications and low internet speed.

This is the case on the coasts of Aragua state, where the telephone signal is intermittent and the Internet connectivity is a daily problem, according to Ysidro Valero, of the Dash Costas de Aragua group. However, this has not prevented the holding of talks and events with dozens of people interested in Dash.

By Willmen Blanco

BTC Holders Do not Bow to Selling Pressure, notwithstanding the Fall

Willmen Blanco
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0
BTC Holders Do not Bow to Selling Pressure, notwithstanding the Fall

The greatest selling pressure occurs among traders who bought BTC between June and July 2019. Only 150,000 BTC in 11.46 million acquired at less than USD 8,000 moved in recent days.

Despite the massive sale of Bitcoin (BTC) that occurred in recent days due to a nearly 20% drop in price, the belief in the bull market remains unchanged among a large number of cryptocurrency holders, according to an analysis by Coin Metrics published  on October 1st.

The study was conducted amid a significant decline that had been affecting the market for a week, when Bitcoin and almost all cryptocurrencies experienced declines, reaching minimum levels not seen since mid-June. Thus, without a clear catalyst, all major assets fell more than 20%. Such circumstance led to strong selling pressure among Bitcoin traders.

According to the Coin Metrics report, network data indicate that the increased crypto-asset-selling pressure originated in short-term traders, who acquired Bitcoin during the hike between June and July this year. In those months, prices ranged between USD 10,000 and almost USD 13,000. This group of traders bought BTC amid the bullish euphoria generated by the highs recorded so far in 2019.

In that sense, the analysis of the activity on the blockchain suggests that, by selling, these short-term holders only seek to protect their positions, even at a moderate loss.

A particularly large rotation was observed from the USD-10,000 cost basis container to the USD 8,000 cost basis container in recent weeks: about 500,000 bitcoins with a cost basis of USD 10,000 were sold and the USD 8,000 cost basis container increased by 750,000 bitcoins.

The Majority Does not Capitulate

Despite the above, the Coin Metrics team’s analysis adds that during the selling pressure, about 720,000 bitcoins remained inactive in the network. They explain that these crypto assets, with a cost basis of more than USD 13,000, belong to a cohort of BTC traders among whom capitulation almost did not occur.

Only 4,140 in these 720,000 BTC had moved in the previous days and did not contribute significantly to selling pressure, according to the report. The statistics show that these operators had become insensitive to a 20% drop in prices and are now firm long-term holders.

However, there is also a third group of traders who would have acquired about 11.46 million BTC at prices below USD 8,000. The analysis stated that these owners represent holders with a strong long-term conviction in Bitcoin. They highlight the fact that despite the extreme market movement, only 150,000 BTC in these 11.46 million moved on the chain.

Considering the data on movements in these last two groups, the Coin Metrics team concludes that most BTC holders have the view that the market is still in bullish trend remains, despite the recent decline in prices.

This optimistic view is shared in a report published by the digital asset research firm Delphi Digital, in which it showed the likely bullish and bearish market trends. There it is ensured that these lower prices represent the prelude to a stage of greater growth.

By Willmen Blanco

Argentina Will Use Federal Blockchain to Certify Traceability in Citrus Fruits

Maria Rodríguez
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Argentina Will Use Federal Blockchain to Certify Traceability in Citrus Fruits

The process will help identify contaminated food and will ensure the non-modification of the data.

Last Wednesday, October 2nd, the government of Argentina issued a statement through the National Service of agro-food Health and Quality (SENASA), which explains that they will use the country’s blockchain network to certify the appropriate traceability for the export of citrus fruits.

Through the statement published by SENASA on its official website, it was known that the governmental organization will be in charge of the Citrus Traceability System (SITC) project, which will ensure the non-modification of the data used for certification.

For these purposes, SITC is the public body that undoubtedly is responsible for the process of certification of the data, and the control of that information to ensure its maximum quality for export. Currently, most of the exports of these citrus fruits are made to some countries of the European Union, the United States and Latin American countries such as Mexico, and other markets.

The importance of this new control system using the federal blockchain network is that it will allow the authorities to certify the quality of these fruits, avoiding the shipment of contaminated fruits for processing or consumption. Likewise, it is known that this technology improves transparency in the process and will go against fraud, thus helping to reduce misplaced actions.

Despite this system, the statement recognized that there must be some confidence in each of the sectors that contribute to the production and marketing chain. Therefore, the commitment is also subject to the people who work in the field until the fruits are transported and protected, indicating that there must be a certainty that true and secure information is granted.

The information reveals that people can access the data using a specific application to read QR codes from mobile phones. Thus, allowing a simple way to have product data.

Blockchain Technology in the Food Industry

Blockchain technology has a wide variety of uses and applications that may well be somehow different from the original purpose of its creation. In this way, it is not only used as a central platform for different cryptocurrencies or for the management and control of important financial data. It can also be used to improve quality control and traceability of food products.

Since the blockchain system allows the unmodifiable handling and control of data, achieving greater transparency and security, the application of these tools to the different areas of the food industry could guarantee the quality of the food or provide data to the consumer to ask for their order in a restaurant. In fact, it is a specific task to use the federal blockchain to ensure the origin of food and certify that the products are suitable for consumption.

Although it is not completely determined that blockchain is a complete solution to all the problems experienced for food processing throughout the production chain, this technology can improve certain old processes that could take hours and days, in addition to increasing data security. The use of blockchain technology to speed up some areas of food production is something totally relevant and countries like Spain are working in the same project.

By María Rodríguez

Infura, which supports most DApps in Ethereum, now belongs to ConsenSys

Willmen Blanco
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Infura, which supports most DApps in Ethereum, now belongs to ConsenSys

The merge of both companies reopens the debate on decentralization in this network. There are about 2,600 DApps that record more than 68 thousand daily transactions in Ethereum.

ConsenSys, the company of Ethereum’s co-founder Joseph Lubin, acquired the entire startup Infura, which manages much of the traffic of the DApps that record its transactions on this blockchain. Infura reported that it will continue operating as a commercial unit within ConsenSys and that the new merger offers them an opportunity for deeper collaboration.

ConsenSys’s decision can be regarded as a formality as the company already operated, in part, with the firm dedicated to designing solutions and projects for Ethereum. None of the companies disclosed the amount agreed to close the deal.

Infura stated that it has negotiated a lot with ConsenSys and some potential external investors so that the culture and vision of the Infura product can remain protected and supported. They consider that ConsenSys is the right place to realize their vision and continue expanding their offer.

Among the main contributions of Infura as a platform to the Ethereum ecosystem, the most prominent are CryptoKitties cryptocollectibles and Metamask plug-in, among other services.

Decentralization Debate

The move of ConsenSys with Infura again stirred the waters over the centralization in Ethereum. The main reason is that Infura might be managing a good part of the nodes of this network, which would compromise decentralization on this platform. In fact, a group of developers warned about this trend in December 2018.

The data offered by explorers in this regard indicate that the number of full nodes decreased within a year. Currently, 7,636 full nodes are registered on ethernodes.org and 6,637 nodes on etherscan.io, with a 10% decrease in their numbers in recent days. In October 2018, that figure exceeded 11,800 nodes, according to search engines. At that time, Michael Wuehler commented that between 5% and 10% of that amount might be nodes operated by Infura.

However, the estimate should consider code requests, a method for creating applications in Ethereum and interacting with the blockchain without running a full node. In this sense, Infura acknowledged last year that 13 billion code requests per day were made through its platform. This information has allowed speculating on the centralization of the network since then.

These figures are particularly important considering that there are about 2,619 DApps in the ecosystem recording its transactions in Ethereum, which handle a daily volume of 68,000 transactions and more than USD 3 million per week, according to data from State of the DApps.

On Twitter and Reddit, comments were divided between questioning and defending the total merge of both companies. The twitter user @yojoots published that ConsenSys has an indisputable power in the Ethereum ecosystem. With this acquisition, its position as a de facto central authority is considerably strengthened.

Contrarily, the Reddit user liberated_u defended the acquisition as a step for the cryptocurrency ecosystem to achieve greater progress in the future. This acquisition will further consolidate the growing presence of ConsenSys in the Ethereum/crypto development space.

Another Reddit user, identified as slightlymedicated, noted that the Infura team wanted to grow with key hiring, offer more products and drive initiatives in line with the spirit of Ethereum. They feel that staying within ConsenSys allowed them to continue what they are doing happily.

ConsenSys is expected to consolidate its projects to improve the Ethereum network, as well as to design and develop new tools that allow for sustained growth for the future.

By Willmen Blanco

Spanish Company Uses Blockchain for Food Traceability

Maria Rodríguez
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Spanish Company Uses Blockchain for Food Traceability

Clients will be able to know the process from the production of the food to the arrival to the supermarket.

The IBM Food Trust platform continues to allow more companies to track the quality of the products they create, in order to provide a better and reliable product to the consumer.

On this occasion, the Spanish company Angulas Aguinaga, owner of brands such as Gula del Norte or Krissia, decided to use blockchain technology in food traceability.

Due to this, the company relies on the sensorization of productive plants, blockchain technology or neuroscience to improve their productions. The objective is to take advantage of the features that the digital era offers to advance and improve production processes.

In this way, Angulas Aguinaga would be the first food manufacturer to join the IBM Food Trust platform, a blockchain-based traceability system that allows controlling and following the process from production to the arrival of the product at the sales site.

Transparency and Security

“We are already in the phase of implementing a technology that offers us 100% percent transparency in the traceability of the chain, which guarantees reliability. The idea is to extend this gradually to the entire product portfolio”, said Mikel Grande, Director of Innovation and Marketing at Angulas Aguinaga.

Also, the company’s Director of Transformation spoke about the project on the company’s official website. The businessman talked about blockchain technology.

“The incorporation of this technology in our sector is a real revolution in terms of transparency, since blockchain technology guarantees the trust and immediacy of the information made available to distributors and consumers. We are convinced that it is the way to go for the industry”, he said.

This initiative is part of the digital transformation projects that the Spanish company seeks. Representatives of the company decided to take advantage of blockchain technology to sensorize machinery in the plant, with the aim of collecting information about the production process, in real time.

“We have incorporated specific talent in this field, where thanks to the software we can collect a multitude of information that allows us to minimize production problems and make decisions based on the data”, Mr. Grande said.

Angulas Aguinaga and IBM

Among other statements related to the project, IBM cited the words of Ignacio Muñoz, CEO of the Spanish company. Muñoz talked about why they decided to join the IBM Food Trust platform.

In that sense, Muñoz commented that the objective of the company was to offer its customers the possibility to know, in first-hand, all about the process in which they work so that they receive a quality product. The idea is to show them the process from the moment of production until the arrival at the establishment where it will be sold.

“Our goal is to guarantee the safety and quality of food to the consumer’s plate. The blockchain initiative is part of the digital transformation projects we are undertaking, with the aim of revolutionizing the food industry at the service of the consumer”, Muñoz said.

Previously, the Spanish company Carrefour announced the launch of a blockchain system of food traceability for the sale of fish in supermarkets.

Without a doubt, this is one of the kinds of food that consumers always want to ensure its quality. For this, they only have to scan the QR code included in the product label.

In this way, clients would have the complete information about the fish production, such as which boat made the capture, coordinates of the fishing area, how it was conditioned, when it arrived to the supermarket and even the procedure used to fish.

By María Rodríguez

Paypal Leaves the New Project of Facebook; Libra

Maria Rodríguez
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Paypal Leaves the New Project of Facebook; Libra

The Libra project suffers from PayPal’s exit from its plans for the operation of the cryptocurrency.

When Facebook announced its own crypto-project, Libra, in the middle of this year, the idea of the social media giant caused great controversy, due to the apparent complexity of the plan and the complete immersion of the company in the crypto world.

It has not only been a cause for great stir in the cryptocurrency industry, but it has also raised a great concern for some governments due to the lack of laws regulating these type of assets.

This great stir has raised a certain level of distrust or risk about participating in the project of Facebook, leading to a large number of partners and suppliers reconsider their inclusion in the Libra plan.  In this sense, PayPal is an important partner who has decided to leave the plan.

The Effects and Challenges of Libra

In the crypto world there has not been a phenomenon as powerful as the one caused by Facebook in just a few months. Only Bitcoin has achieved comparable attention, but Libra has alerted entire governments that did not expect this news.

The announcement about the launch of Libra, developed and conducted by one of the most important companies on the planet, is accompanied not only by the extensive working group of the social network, but also, immersed within the project, there are at least 30 Globally recognized companies that accompany the launch of Libra.

Some economic experts and also experts in the crypto world assume that the Libra project, if launched next year, could have a great impact on the different financial markets of the world. They fear that it generates a level of power that the company has not experienced, since the currency would be included in the financial and monetary business and would alter many other public and private sectors.

Other people consider the inclusion of Facebook in the economic sector to be a sensitive and risky issue. This is because the company handles sensitive and private information of its users.

Due to these considerations, many governments have declared themselves against the launch of Libra and experience a shake in their legislation in order to develop legal tools that help regulate these assets and their range of action in the different world economies.

This puts Facebook’s plans uphill with its cryptocurrency project because, even before its launch, it experiences oppositions from private institutions and governments.

The Position of Paypal

This great opposition that has faced the Libra project, by governments such as the United States or France, has generated that the associated members of the cryptocurrency project see with great concern the idea of having to face other sectors of power.

It is for this reason that PayPal has taken the decision to completely leave the Libra project. Some of them announced, in addition, that despite their departure, they would focus on conducting their own efforts to allow any person or institution access to the financial world.

“We remain supportive of Libra’s aspirations and look forward to continued dialogue on ways to work together in the future. Facebook has been a valuable and long-standing strategic partner for PayPal. Facebook has been a longstanding and valued strategic partner to PayPal, and we will continue to partner with and support Facebook in various capacities”, said a medium specialized in cryptocurrencies, by issuing a statement from the financial company.

The decision of PayPal is a blow that the Libra association experiences; if the same happens with the other members of the project, it could generate the completion of a cryptocurrency that has not yet been introduced in the world of cryptographic market.

By María Rodríguez

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