A Study Reveals that One-Third of British Citizens Own Cryptocurrencies

Alexander Salazar
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<strong>A Study Reveals that One-Third of British Citizens Own Cryptocurrencies</strong>

Prices have skyrocketed due to the excessive printing of fiat money during the COVID-19 pandemic, causing Britons to turn to cryptocurrencies. According to the study, 27% of British women own crypto assets, while 35% of female investors buy them worldwide.

This year, the interest in cryptocurrencies among British citizens has dropped by 82%. However, more people know and own those assets despite the terrible price action in the crypto market.

Based on data from VoucherCodes.co.uk, the current long-term growth is more optimistic than the previous one.

The Pandemic Has Helped the Number of British Cryptocurrency Holders Grow

Cryptocurrencies are increasingly relevant in the financial markets, leading 34% of British citizens to own cryptocurrencies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused millions of people to remain confined at home, skipping their hobbies, recreational activities, and commuting. Many turned to cryptocurrencies due to the considerable amount of free time and the excessive printing of fiat money that led prices to skyrocket.

An additional factor increasing the adoption of crypto assets is that Britons can invest in them easily. For example, they did not expect cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase to go public some time ago.

However, British citizens can acquire cryptocurrencies in many other ways. Various apps are now available for them to buy Bitcoin more easily by just scrolling the screens of their smartphones.

The Number of British Women Owning Cryptocurrencies Is Increasingly High

The above study reveals that 41% of British men own cryptocurrencies while 27% of women do. That percentage is much higher than expected, as some other studies show much lower figures.

A study on gender distribution in various countries in early 2022 revealed that there are 35% of female crypto investors worldwide. That figure is higher than the 26% of women in the overall global investment universe.

While 35% of British investors are women, France leads the developed world with 45%.

According to the study, the gender balance was much more stable in developing countries. More women than men invest in assets in countries like Israel, Indonesia, and Nigeria. There are fewer opportunities for the former to achieve financial independence in developing countries.

The Crypto Market Has Potential to Grow Further in the UK

Although many people already invest in crypto assets, most (66%) have not done it. Although 48% of the population knows little about cryptocurrencies, the market still has enormous potential.

Over the last few years, cryptocurrencies have entered the mainstream, but almost half the population does not know them.

Although 2022 has been a negative year for cryptocurrencies, statistics like 34% of Britons owning crypto show their growth. Despite the gender gap, ignorance about crypto assets, and rock-bottom prices, the outlook is better than a few years ago.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin is trading at around USD 20,609 and has accumulated a 1.6% over the last 24 hours. While its daily trading volume is above USD 377.00 billion, its market capitalization is about USD 395.65 billion, according to CoinGecko.

By Alexander Salazar

Nigerians Avoid Using CBDC eNaira, Wary of Government “Elites”

Audy Castañeda
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<strong>Nigerians Avoid Using CBDC eNaira, Wary of Government “Elites”</strong>

Nigerians have not adopted the state CBDC. The crypto-savvy population distrusts the ruling elites. The rejection of eNaira could be reflected in other countries.

The local Nigerian eNaira CBDC has been in place for just over a year. However, it has not reached its intended audiences, and adoption is extremely low, with just 0.5% of the country’s population, according to recent reports.

Launched in October 2021, eNaira CBDC was designed to help the unbanked in Africa’s most populous nation. However, widespread confusion and general mistrust of the ruling elite have made it difficult for the country’s 218 million people to adopt it.

On November 3, geopolitical analyst Nick Giambruno expressed his thoughts on the CBDC situation, proclaiming that “eNaira has been a massive failure.”

Nigeria has been a “petri dish” for central bankers, academics, politicians, and a “variety of elites” from more than 100 countries, he added.

Nigerians Prefer ‘Real’ Cryptocurrencies

With only 1 in 200 people using eNaira, it has fallen far short of government expectations. This came as a surprise to the ruling elites, Giambruno added, arguing the following:

“They thought Nigerians couldn’t tell the difference between Bitcoin and eNaira; after all, they are both digital currencies.”

Nigerians are big on crypto, with the country ranking 11th globally in Bitcoin adoption. Furthermore, they are generally wary of anything the state imposes on them, favoring more decentralized and unrestricted digital assets.

In August, BeInCrypto reported that Nigeria led the global search trends for Bitcoin and crypto information. The growing demand for cryptocurrencies came after its central bank banned banks from providing cryptocurrency exchange services in February 2021.

In conclusion, the analyst called it a victory for freedom:

“The failure of CBDCs in Nigeria could throw sand in the gears of the elites’ plan to implement them worldwide. That would be very positive for human freedom.”

Nigeria could now set a precedent for CBDC adoption (or rejection, it seems) in other countries planning to roll out, such as China.

Global CBDC Implementation Perspective

According to the Atlantic Council, 15 countries are currently testing a CBDC, including China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, and Saudi Arabia. It is no surprise that authoritarian regimes like these are leading the race to implement their state-controlled digital currencies.

Earlier this week, BeInCrypto reported on concerns related to a CBDC tied to national digital IDs. It would give autocratic governments the perfect tools to monitor and control what their citizens can spend, and where.

In short, Nigerians have been the first to reject a full-scale CBDC, having seen what their leaders are actually doing.

By Audy Castaneda

Whereabouts of Terra (LUNA) CEO, Do Kwon, Located in Europe

Audy Castañeda
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<strong>Whereabouts of Terra (LUNA) CEO, Do Kwon, Located in Europe</strong>

Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon currently operates outside of Europe, according to the Korean indictment. Kwon’s passport has been revoked by the Seoul Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

South Korean publication KBS reports that Terra LUNA CEO Do Kwon is currently living in Europe, even though the South Korean Foreign Ministry invalidated his passport.

Kwon had reportedly fled to the unknown European location via Dubai before his passport was invalidated.

The revelation of Kwon’s purported whereabouts comes nearly a month after Seoul’s foreign ministry said Kwon had two weeks to return his passport.

If he did not comply, his passport would be revoked. Consequently, the move would have forced Kwon to return to South Korea and face capital markets law violation charges, along with several other Terraform Labs employees.

Earlier this year, South Korean prosecutors from the Southern District of Seoul launched a global search for Kwon after the $40 billion collapse of the stablecoin TerraUSD, and its sister token, LUNA, in May 2022.

At the request of South Korean officials, Interpol issued a Red Notice for Kwon, which is not an international arrest warrant. Rather, it allows law enforcement in one of Interpol’s 195 member countries to provisionally arrest a person for extradition, surrender, or other legal action.

Kwon Manipulated the Price of LUNA

According to KBS, South Korean prosecutors obtained evidence that Kwon manipulated LUNA’s price. They gained access to a conversation between Kwon and a former Terraform Labs employee. In the discussion, Kwon ordered the employee to participate in the manipulation.

“I can’t reveal the details, but it was a conversation history where CEO Kwon specifically ordered price gouging,” a South Korean prosecutor’s official said.

Previously, a representative for Kwon had denied these accusations.

Kwon Boasts About “Creative Period”

Still, Kwon seems relatively unfazed and has continued to write code for the Terra 2.0 Blockchain. After the collapse of the original ecosystem, he released Terra 2.0 as a hard fork of the original network. The new Blockchain has new LUNA and TerraUSD tokens, while the old chain tokens have been renamed LUNC and USTC.

On November 3, 2022, Kwon said that he had had an unprecedented opportunity for creative expression in recent weeks.

Later in October 2022, he claimed in an interview on the Unchained podcast that the charges against him had a political agenda and apologized to private investors in Terra.

Amid Do Kwon’s dodging, LUNC is currently trading at $0.00022148. It has not significantly recovered from the crash earlier this year. On the other hand, LUNA is trading at $2.40 and is down 87% from its all-time high.

By Audy Castaneda

Vitalik Buterin Believes that Investors Prefer Buying Cryptocurrencies to Gold

Alexander Salazar
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<strong>Vitalik Buterin Believes that Investors Prefer Buying Cryptocurrencies to Gold</strong>

Buterin said it is hard to exchange gold or pay for products or services with gold, in contrast to Ether. Hayden Adan thinks the precious metal poses the risk of galloping centrally controlled inflation due to asteroid mining.

When people hear the digital gold term, Bitcoin (BTC) usually comes to mind. However, some economists tremble with fear as BTC is not tangible, unlike the precious metal, which implies a wrong designation.

Since Gold Is Not Decentralized, It Is Less Efficient than Cryptocurrencies

Some people believe cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) are irrelevant. For example, Zach Weiner Smith wonders why citizens do not use gold instead, arguing that it has the same properties.

He considers that the only reasonable argument is that cryptocurrencies do not depend on a centralized authority.

Vitalik Buterin, one of the co-founders of Ethereum, defends the philosophy behind crypto assets and decentralization. He commented that gold is incredibly problematic, as it is hard to use when trading with unreliable third parties.

The Russian-born programmer pointed out that exchanging gold with others or paying for a product or service is very difficult. He also thinks that acquiring the precious metal can prove an obstacle course, in contrast to the simplicity of buying Ether.

Buterin further explained that gold is incompatible with secure storage options like multi-signature. He highlighted that validating a gold transaction with several signatories is complicated.

The co-creator of Ethereum concluded with a sentence that would cause many cryptocurrency critics to tremble. He stated that gold had less adoption than cryptocurrencies, making cryptocurrencies the best investment option.

Cryptocurrencies Might Replace Gold as the Main Investment Option

Hayden Adan, an Ethereum developer, thinks that gold involves the risk of galloping centrally controlled inflation due to asteroid mining.

His theory suggests that humans might recover materials much rarer than gold in meteorites and asteroids. That might cause the intrinsic value of the precious metal to drop and the stock market to collapse further.

Regarding decentralization, the best option would be to avoid buying gold through unreliable third parties. Although anyone can own it, Bitcoin and Ether emerge as better options amid galloping inflation.

Ether is trading at around USD 1,540 and has accumulated a 0.9% loss over the last 24 hours. While its daily trading volume is above USD 28.76 billion, its market capitalization is about USD 185.92 billion, according to CoinGecko.

The Reasons Why Cryptocurrencies Are a Better Option than Gold

Investors are looking for various assets to hedge against the unstable geopolitical environment regarding commodities. Although people have historically seen gold as a store of value, that situation has changed.

Cryptocurrencies emerged to compete with the precious metal, serving as a refuge for investors, which allows for easier and safer transactions.

In 2022, gold suffered many losses due to inflation, unlike the US dollar. According to data from finbold.com, silver and platinum outperform gold by 64.12% and 112%, respectively.

The financial services company JPMorgan supports cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin. Its portability, fungibility, scarcity, verifiability, and resistance to censorship make it better than gold.

By Alexander Salazar

A Technical Analysis Reveals that Ether Might Rise Significantly in the Medium Term

Alexander Salazar
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<strong>A Technical Analysis Reveals that Ether Might Rise Significantly in the Medium Term</strong>

The RSI indicator is in a bearish area of 66.26, demonstrating the weakening of the bullish trend, which might precede higher prices. Ether emulates other altcoins, rising by 100% above the minimum marked in previous months, showing the current crypto market expectations.

The price of Ether (ETH), the native token of the Ethereum network, has remained between USD 880 and USD 2,000 for five months. Amid a recent short-term bullish trend, there are expectations about reduced aggressiveness in the monetary policy in first-world countries.

From a broad perspective, the price of Ether seems to be in an accumulation period. The decisions by the Federal Reserve (Fed) and the collapse of the Terra (LUNA) ecosystem in the previous bullish market took it to the limit. That might allow the cryptocurrency to rebound from the extreme fear in the crypto market.

The relative strength index (RSI) shows the weakening of the bullish trend as it is in a bearish area of ​​66.26. There might be a reversal to the downside before the price continues rising. Ether is probably closer to the bottom of the current cycle than to the top.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC), the pioneering cryptocurrency, always influences the rest of the crypto market. A rise in BTC would confirm the predictions about the price of ETH for the coming weeks.

Further stability by the Fed would help Bitcoin maintain the balance of the range starting on June 17th. That would confirm the proposed scenario, although BTC is a risky asset.

The Possibility of a Bearish Scenario Depends on External Factors

Nobody should dismiss the possibility of a bearish scenario, as the bullish projection shown in available information might change. Given good risk management, the worst situation in the crypto market is that the opposite will occur.

Following the Fed meeting, among the fundamentals to consider is setting aggressive conditions for the markets. The war in Ukraine might escalate while Russia might continue trading its commodities in Bitcoin. Besides, there might be a widespread failure among European banks like Credit Suisse.

Regardless of the situation, the market is always right and may invalidate any predictions about the price of crypto assets like Ether. Amid that scenario, the estimated target for ETH would be at the USD 1,134 level.

The crypto market is looking at the interest rate hike by the Fed and the state of the European financial sector. One or another scenario will occur, depending on what they decide.

The Ether Price Follows the Trend of the Overall Altcoin Market

Ether emulates the behavior of other altcoins, rising by 100% above the minimum marked in previous months. That remarkable recovery shows the current expectations about the crypto market conditions.

Ether is trading at around USD 1,540 and has accumulated a 0.9% loss over the last 24 hours. While its daily trading volume is above USD 28.76 billion, its market capitalization is about USD 185.92 billion, according to CoinGecko.

Investors should research Ether before buying it to know its all-time high, behavior, and possible future price. That will help them make better trading decisions and reduce the risk of losing money. However, it is only a matter of time before seeing where the market will take the native token of Ethereum.

By Alexander Salazar

Bear Market Eliminates Three Crypto ETFs in Australia, Results Disappoint Issuers

Audy Castañeda
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<strong>Bear Market Eliminates Three Crypto ETFs in Australia, Results Disappoint Issuers</strong>

Amid the recent drop in digital asset prices, three crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) introduced in Australia earlier this year will be delisted.

Bloomberg reported that the Cboe Australia-run exchange had received requests from Cosmos Purpose Bitcoin Access ETF, Cosmos Purpose Ethereum Access ETF, and Cosmos Global Digital Miners Access ETF to cancel their listings.

Results Disappoint Issuers

Dan Annan, CEO of Cosmos, said: “While we are strong believers in the asset class, we are all disappointed with this result; however, we will continue to follow the process in the best interest of all unit owners.”

Australia’s first crypto ETFs debuted on local exchange Cboe Global Markets on May 12, following a delayed launch with Cosmos Purpose Bitcoin Access ETF as one of the leading candidates.

The report noted that Global X Bitcoin and Ethereum funds, which have a combined market value of around A$8.5 million, are still available in Australia, adding that Cosmos Bitcoin and Ethereum Funds, which feed into funds listed in Toronto and managed by Purpose Investments, have total assets of about A$1.1 million ($710,000). The miners’ vehicle, on the other hand, has about A$630,000.

Australia Waits for Passage of Cryptocurrency Bill

Bloomberg analyst Rebecca Sin explained: “Australia’s hope of becoming Asia’s crypto hub is now dimming, especially after Hong Kong just announced a path for Bitcoin and Ether ETFs.”

On October 31, the Hong Kong government released a policy statement on the growth of virtual assets in the Special Administrative Region (SAR). Additionally, the government stated that it would be open to the idea of ​​allowing cryptocurrency ETFs on its markets.

Rebecca Sin, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, explained that, “Australia’s hope of becoming Asia’s crypto hub now diminishes, especially after Hong Kong just announced a pathway for Bitcoin and Ether ETFs.”

Another problem Australia seems to be dealing with is the sky-high inflation rate. The rate of inflation in the country hit a 32-year high, with more domestic investors flocking to the digital asset sector.

Last month, Australian Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg introduced a bill to regulate crypto assets to ensure Australia “keeps up with the global pace.”

The Digital Assets (Market Regulation) Bill 2022 closed for public consultation on October 31. It now awaits parliament’s approval.

If passed, it will introduce licensing of exchanges and other crypto service providers, stablecoin regulations, and disclosure requirements for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), including Australian facilitators of the Chinese digital yuan ( e-RMB).

By Audy Castaneda

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