Keeping abreast of the latest and most recent crypto news is today an essential requirement to understand the crypto world.

This week highlights information of interest about the crypto world, which allows us to have the capacity and minimum tools to give a reasonable opinion and make informed decisions. The five most relevant news are the following:

• Voyager could start returning the funds to its creditors.
• The Kingdom of Bhutan has been mining Bitcoin for several years.
• Montana Governor in favor of crypto mining.
• Mastercard has announced the Mastercard Crypto Credential.
• Robert Kennedy Jr. criticizes the increase in the tax on crypto mining.

Voyager Could Start Returning Funds to Its Creditors

According to the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (UCC), Voyager Digital’s creditors could start receiving their funds very soon. Indicating, that it is in the final stages of the bankruptcy liquidation proceedings.

Voyager must file the liquidation proceedings with the United States Bankruptcy Court, having ten days to file any objection to the liquidation proceedings. Then, if there is no objection, “Voyager will carry out the plan.”

The Kingdom of Bhutan Has Been Mining Bitcoin for Several Years

Bhutan, hidden among the valleys and mountains that make up the Himalayas, is one of the smallest countries in the world. Their economy is mainly based on tourism, but for years they have been working on a very particular source of resources: Bitcoin mining.

Indeed, it has been the local media The Bhutanese which has confirmed the news, stating that the Kingdom of Bhutan has mainly mined Bitcoin (BTC), besides a small amount of Ethereum (ETH), as part of its financial strategy.

The CEO of Druk Holding and Investments (DHI), Dasho Ugen Chencho, stated that the company had started mining with the price of Bitcoin above $5,000.

Montana Governor in Favor of Crypto Mining

Greg Gianforte, the governor of Montana, has signed into law SB178, which is in favor of cryptocurrency mining, protecting the industry from potentially restrictive regulations. Specifically, the new law not only protects the crypto mining industry but also addresses a key issue in the use of crypto assets as a means of payment. The legislation prohibits the application of taxes to transactions made in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Mastercard Has Announced Mastercard Crypto Credential

Mastercard has announced Mastercard Crypto Credential, a cross-border service designed to ensure that transactions between wallets are verifiable. During his presentation at Consensus 2023, Raj Dhamodharan, product executive of Digital Assets and Mastercard Associations, announced that the company will launch a service designed to guarantee that transactions between user wallets are verifiable and comply with the rules, starting with transfers of digital assets between countries.

Mastercard Crypto Credential is the firm’s new platform that aims to provide a foundation for financial institutions, governments, brands, and crypto players, ensuring that those interested in interacting through Web3 environments comply with the standards defined for the types of activities that they would like to do.

Robert Kennedy Jr. Criticizes Crypto Mining Tax Increase

The candidate for the White House and nephew of former President John Kennedy stated that he was against the insistence of the President of the United States, Joe Biden, to impose taxes of up to 30% on the electrical energy used by Bitcoin miners. According to a tweet he posted on May 3, “It is a mistake for the U.S. government to hobble the industry and drive innovation elsewhere.”

By Audy Castaneda

Beyond the hype, how does SHIB compare to other meme coins like PEPE and DOGE?

Regarding meme coins, there is no denying that Shiba Inu (SHIB) has been one of the most talked about tokens of late. Its success is due in part to its captivating name and adorable pet, which has been a hit with social media users.

PEPE is the recently hyped memecoin on the cryptocurrency market. Since the token has multiplied by 20 since its creation, it has attracted many traders and investors. Dogecoin (DOGE), on the other hand, is known as Elon Musk’s favorite.

SHIB, PEPE, AND DOGE Compared

On May 5, CoinGecko released a study that looked at the price performance of meme coins over a period, using data from CoinGecko. The study considered the beginning of the data availability as the hypothetical purchase date, while the historical maximum price, as of May 4 was taken as the selling point to achieve profit.

According to CoinGecko data, SHIB required an initial investment of just $12 to hit $1 million by 2021, making it one of the most affordable meme coins on the market. By contrast, DOGE required an initial investment of $820 in 2013, which is significantly higher.

Other meme coins, such as PEPE and WOJAK, require an initial investment of $158,312 and $175,330, respectively, making them much less accessible for the average investor in 2023.

In terms of price gains, SHIB was the most successful meme coin, with an incredible 8,424,202.3%. increase at its peak compared to its initial price on August 1, 2020. This is evidence of SHIB’s popularity and ability to attract investors from around the world.

On the other hand, DOGE has been a long-term successful meme coin, having been a pioneer in the category since 2013. DOGE’s price performance has been impressive and it consistently ranks in the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Shiba Inu has struggled to break into the top 10, while still ranking 16th in the global crypto market.

Shiba Inu Downtrend Price Action

SHIB has recently experienced significant price volatility, leading to bearish price action. This has been attributed to several factors, including profit taking, a broader market downturn, and investors shifting to a more attractive memecoin, currently PEPE.

In the last 24 hours, Pepe Coin’s turnover reached $670 million, making it the first meme cryptocurrency by volume. For comparison, Dogecoin’s turnover is $252 million. The official Pepe Coin Twitter account claims that it is the “most memeable memecoin out there” and jokes that the era of dog-themed meme cryptocurrencies is over.

As the hype for the meme token grows, some early investors have started selling their tokens.

Recently, according to Benzinga Pro, PEPE was trading at $0.0000021. In contrast, data from CoinGecko shows that the price of SHIB was $0.00000001 on Aug 1, 2020, and hit an all-time high of $0.00008616 on Oct 28, 2021. SHIB is currently trading at $0.00001000, representing a decrease of 88.43% of its total high-time value.

                                                                                              By Audy Castaneda

Alibaba’s technology division, “Alibaba Cloud” has announced the launch of a Metaverse platform, dubbed as “Cloudverse”, which will be powered by the “Avalanche” Blockchain.

The launch of Alibaba’s new Metaverse platform, “Cloudverse”, was announced at the popular Blockchain event “Avalanche Summit II”, which is being held in Spain.

Notably, Cloudverse will provide Alibaba’s customers, a platform that will aim to help businesses customize, create and maintain their own Metaverse spaces within the Avalanche Blockchain.

According to the official announcement, the Blockchain will provide the “technology to build the virtual Metaverse spaces,” while Alibaba Cloud, will provide “computing and storage.”

John Wu president of Ava Labs expressed that “Alibaba Cloud partners, are asking to be part of Web3”. “Therefore, we will dedicate our resources to facilitate and provide them with the creation of their own software toolkits,” he added.

Additionally, a third partner, Blockchain company “MUA DAO”, will be present on the Cloudverse platform. This company will be in charge of the service layer that will facilitate the “implementation, integration, and customization of Metaverses.”

According to Alibaba Cloud and Avalanche, “builders” in Cloudverse will receive support for planning “Metaeconomies, interactive functions, and virtual events,” among others. In addition, representatives indicated that each Metaverse space could be up and running approximately one month after commencement.

It is important to note that Alibaba’s recent partnership with a Blockchain network is the second of its kind in less than two months. In March, Alibaba Cloud announced its partnership with the Blockchain “Sui Layer 1”, to develop computing software and nodes in the cloud.

Blockchain can Dominate the Good Development of AI

Alibaba Cloud and Avalanche team up to drive Blockchain adoption in Asia. It is worth noting that this is not the first time Alibaba Cloud and Avalanche have partnered commercially.

In December 2022, Alibaba Cloud began providing it with the infrastructure and digital tools to help users in Asia launch validators on the Avalanche Blockchain. Additionally, according to those involved in the project, that partnership has provided numerous plug-and-play and node proposals to help expand the adoption of Blockchain technology in Asia.

“Our partnership is a great way for Asian users to manage and validate nodes, and we are now expanding this partnership with Cloudverse,” said John Wu at Avalanche Summit II.

Currently, Alibaba Cloud has approximately more than 4 million customers and more than 10 million developers globally, according to John Wu.

CoinMarketCap reported that Avalanche’s native token, AVAX, stands at $16.86. Source: CoinmarketcapAt the time of writing this post, Avalanche’s native token, AVAX, stands at $16.86.

Furthermore, from tech giant Alibaba’s perspective, one of the ways to bring the Asian enterprise ecosystem to Web3 is through the Metaverse.

“For us, Alibaba Cloud, it’s a great way to get access to 4 million potential builders, and when they are in, there will be tons of transactions on the Avalanche Blockchain,” expressed John Wu.

The new Cloudverse platform is yet another example of how Alibaba Cloud continues to push the boundaries of innovation to offer customers the best possible experience to grow within the Metaverse.

Furthermore, through the use of Avalanche’s Blockchain technology, Cloudverse will continue to provide its users with high levels of security and privacy in the process.

By Marina Meza

The new law could go a long way in attracting companies focused on innovation, which will bring development to El Salvador.

Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador and a Bitcoin supporter, recently signed a law that eliminates taxes on technological innovations in the country. The Technology and Innovation Manufacturing Incentives Act (ITMI) revealed a wide spectrum of sectors where full tax elimination applies.

Bukele announced this decision via Twitter as follows:

“I’ve just signed into law, the INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY MANUFACTURING INCENTIVES ACT, which eliminates all taxes (income, property, capital gains, and import tariffs) on technology innovations, software, and app programming, AI, computer and communications hardware manufacturing.”

El Salvador Promotes Technological Innovation by Eliminating Taxes

Nayib Bukele used his official Twitter account on May 4, 2023, to say that he signed the new law to ensure that taxes on property, income, capital gains, import duties, software and application programming, AI, computer, and communications hardware manufacturing will be phased out entirely in the future.

The signed ITMI Law has been in the works, as far back as March 2023, when the President of El Salvador made clear his intentions to present a bill to safeguard innovative technological advances in the country. Following his intentions, legislation was submitted to Congress to eliminate taxes on technological innovations in the country.

Among the activities included in this law are technological innovations, software programming, and applications, as well as artificial intelligence or the manufacture of computer and communications hardware.

This law received a vote in favor of 69 of the 84 members that make up the country’s Legislative Assembly last April. Bukele’s purpose is for the country to attract investment from companies in the technology and information sector.

The recently signed law is just one among the many efforts that the Salvadoran president has promoted for the growth and technological development of the country. In January 2023, a Forbes India report broke the news that El Salvador had established a legal framework and process for issuing Bitcoin-backed bonds, also known as “Volcano Bonds.”

El Salvador’s Bitcoin-backed bond boosted sovereign debt payments, developing Bitcoin mining infrastructure by financing the construction of a project dubbed Bitcoin City to scale sustainable crypto mining efforts.

A Welcoming Nation for Innovative Tech and Crypto Mining Companies?

The law signed by Nayib Bukele today could promote the growth and technological development of El Salvador as a nation, as well as of the manufacturing, technological, and cryptographic companies that operate in the country. With the tax exemption law applicable to the aforementioned sectors, innovative companies abroad have the incentive to relocate their operations to a country with a positive tax law.

Nayib Bukele’s efforts to build a Bitcoin city near the Conchagua volcano in the country will exponentially escalate BTC mining activities by corporations. The energy required for mining will be obtained directly from the volcano, which generates hydrothermal energy.

While the US recently proposed a 30 percent tax on crypto mining operations, El Salvador continues to promote a thriving ecosystem of technological innovation.

By Audy Castaneda