While the ECB Raises Interest Rates Significantly, DBS Bank Works with the Sandbox to Reduce Carbon Emissions

Alexander Salazar
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While the ECB Raises Interest Rates Significantly, DBS Bank Works with the Sandbox to Reduce Carbon Emissions

Lagarde expects a significant slowdown in economic activity following a half-point increase in July after 11 years. DBS Bank and The Sandbox will acquire the carbon offsets to allow their production to occur in a carbon-neutral environment.

Amid a global upward trend, the European Central Bank (ECB) recently decided to raise its interest rates too. The euro (EUR) has lost value against the US dollar (USD), trading at less than USD 0.99 for the first time in over 20 years.

The latest rise in interest rates by the European Central Bank is unprecedented, as it raised by 75 basis points. Skyrocketing inflation and the need to keep it under control seem to be the basis for the rate hike.

Lagarde Expects the Economy to Undergo a Significant Slowdown

Christine Lagarde, the head of the European Central Bank, announced that the financial institution would raise interest rates. They believe inflation might remain above their target after rising by a half point in July for the first time in 11 years.

Lagarde also expects a significant slowdown in economic activity and high energy costs until December 31st. Their sharp rise in interest rates seeks to increase financing costs for consumers, businesses, and governments. The US Federal Reserve (Fed) announced in July that it would raise interest rates by 75 basis points to counter rising prices.

The decision of politicians to raise interest rates to relieve pressure on the economy and public wallets caused inflation to soar. The measure of the Fed seems to show its commitment to reducing inflation, which recently reached 9.1% for the first time in history.

DBS Bank and The Sandbox Work Together for Lower Carbon Emission

Singapore financial institution DBS Bank recently said it would work with The Sandbox metaverse platform. DBS BetterWorld is the planned private metaverse property of the bank, which it intends to house in a three-for-three piece of land.

They stated that they needed to create a better and more sustainable world with that project. In that regard, DBS Bank and The Sandbox will acquire the carbon offsets to make their production carbon neutral.

They Seek to Focus on Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain Technology

DBS is the first company to partner with The Sandbox and the first bank to enter the virtual world in Singapore. That represents a considerable opportunity for them to take advantage of the possibilities of the World Wide Web.

Piyush Gupta, the CEO of DBS, said digital advances had catalyzed the leading changes in the finance world for a decade. Over the coming ten years, these changes may become even more profound thanks to new technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchain.

Gupta highlighted the possibilities of metaverse technology, commenting the ever-changing field may disrupt how financial institutions communicate with their customers.

Sebastien Borget, the co-founder of The Sandbox, explained that the metaverse development would introduce the culture of Singapore to the virtual world. He said that this community would celebrate diversity without compromising the way of life of the Asian sovereign island city-state.

By Alexander Salazar

The Price of ADA Might Be Ready for the Bullish Run in September

Alexander Salazar
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The Price of ADA Might Be Ready for the Bullish Run in September

There might be a bullish rally for cryptocurrencies like ADA, as the current bearish market might create an opportunity for an increase. Promotional activity and corporate volume following the recent seemingly-bearish gains might prevent a further price rise soon.

Following the recent rally in the crypto market, trader and investor sentiment still bases on extreme fear as the correction continues. However, despite the chaotic situation, cryptocurrencies like Cardano (ADA) still show an optimistic outlook.

In mid-September, the Cardano network will launch its new Vasil hard fork after an admirable performance, gaining over 5% over the last week. ADA outperformed crypto assets with a higher market capitalization like Ether (ETH), whose Merge upgrade will occur soon.

ADA is trading at around 0.512765 and has accumulated a 3.7% gain over the last 24 hours. While its daily trading volume is above USD 850.25 million, its market capitalization is about USD 17.32 billion, according to CoinGecko.

The Price of ADA Might Increase despite the Bearish Market

The Vasil hard fork might finally occur in mid-September, causing excitement in the Cardano community. Despite the ongoing development and testing for the event, the company Input Output Global recently tweeted some updates.

Charles Hoskinson, its CEO, and co-founder, commented that ADA performed at its best, although its price dropped in August. He said that a universal truth about cryptocurrencies is that the markets are not in touch with reality.

Crypto influencer Dan Gambardella recently highlighted there might be a bullish rally for cryptocurrencies like ADA. He considers the current bearish market might create an opportunity for a price increase, as happened in 2018.

Metrics about ADA Suggest a Price Rise in the Long Term

Besides developments in the community and statements from officials and influencers, the metrics about ADA also look promising. The Market Value Realized Value (MVRV) index has increased slightly over the last week, suggesting a potential rise in the price.

Since early August, the number of daily active addresses has also increased, indicating users on the network.

Despite its recent seemingly-bearish gains, the on-chain profit trading of ADA has declined. Promotional activity and corporate volume followed a similar downward trend, which might prevent a further price increase soon.

ADA Breaks above the 200- and 50-Day Moving Averages

Some indicators suggested an increase in the price of ADA, while others indicated a drop.

The EMA ribbon showed a narrow gap between the 20- and 55-day EMAs, which signals a bullish rally. Furthermore, the moving average convergence divergence (MACD) suggested the same blue line above the red one.

However, the latter approached the former, leading the chances of a bearish crossing to skyrocket. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) was neutral, suggesting that the market might head anywhere.

The price of ADA finally broke through the local resistance level on the ADA/BTC pair. The reversal of the ascending triangle contributed to the growth of ADA in the market.

Besides breaking above the modeled resistance level, ADA exceeded the 200 and 50-day moving averages, a usual strong barrier in a bearish trend.

If the price of ADA maintains its pace of growth, a much-needed bullish signal might emerge in the crypto market.

By Alexander Salazar

Panama Will Use Blockchain Technology to Improve Food Production

Audy Castañeda
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Panama Will Use Blockchain Technology to Improve Food Production

The government of Panama seeks to guarantee food production from the bases.

The government of Panama, through the Controlled Environment Research and Production Center (CIPAC AIP) will use Blockchain (among others) for the management and control of the country’s agricultural production. Other technologies that it will also use are robotics, artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and big data.

CIPAC AIP, an initiative of the National Secretariat of Science, Technology, and Innovation (Senacyt) of Panama seeks to improve production through productive transformation, improve competitiveness, food security, and social development.

Panama: Integrating Blockchain and Web 3.0

Panama has shown interest in integrating Blockchain and Web 3.0 into its digital economy. In July, the Blockchain Summit Latam Panama 2022 brought together experts from the crypto ecosystem, who agreed that Web 3.0 will detonate the scope of the digital and local economy in Latin America, in addition to the potential for job creation in the Blockchain industry.

Even the CEO of JAN3, Samson Mow, had an opinion about it:

“We are going to see the fall of the fiat system, and this can be alleviated by adopting Bitcoin, were the words with which the CEO of the JAN3 Company, and former director of Blockstream, raised the public at the Convention Center in the Panamanian capital. The world is getting darker and darker, with record numbers of inflation and a global recession.

As reported by the newspaper La Estrella, CIPAC AIP operates with a budget of 19 million dollars from the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) and its main task is to support producers, and academic institutions, through research and technology.

Eduardo Novillo, CEO and Co-founder of Agrotoken, said cryptocurrency is “the safest and most real in the world that is based on three of the most demanded cereals globally. The alliance with Visa makes us proud and shows that we have a highly reliable generating a disruptive change for the financial sector.”

Blockchain Initiatives in LATAM

In Latin America, there are more Blockchain initiatives related to the agricultural sector. In May, Agrotoken established an alliance with Visa so that agricultural producers can make all kinds of purchases from their own production. With this plastic, people who work in the agricultural industry will be able to make any purchase using tokenized grains.

“Agrotoken is the safest and most real cryptocurrency in the world that is based on three of the most demanded cereals globally. The alliance with Visa makes us proud and shows that we have a highly reliable product generating a disruptive change for the financial sector.”

Another initiative was from the Colombian government, which in 2021 launched a Blockchain campaign to promote agricultural projects, where it planned to support 10 pilot projects to validate particular gaps in each crop, belonging to its “Agro 4.0” strategy, which would support projects with Blockchain technology, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet of Things.

“Facilitating the appropriation and dissemination of 4.0 technologies for agriculture is relevant because it raises awareness of the importance of this sector at the national level and the important weight it has for the economy in Colombia. Promoting this type of project means a challenge by promoting learning processes, knowledge management, staggering of innovations and good management practices,” as explained by the director of the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution of Colombia, Erez Zaionce.

By Audy Castaneda

MicroStrategy Plans to Sell $500 Million in Stock to Buy More Bitcoin (BTC)

Audy Castañeda
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MicroStrategy Plans to Sell $500 Million in Stock to Buy More Bitcoin (BTC)

The company maintains that despite the volatility, it will continue to buy Bitcoin.

MicroStrategy announced that it has reached an agreement with Cowen and Company, LLC and BTIG, LLC, to sell Series A shares, to raise up to $500 million, which will be used to purchase more Bitcoin (BTC).

In its document sent to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), MicroStrategy explained that it will issue up to 11,474,290 shares at a price of $234.50 per share, a price set by the Nasdaq Global Select Market on September 8.

“We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of Bitcoin, unless otherwise stated in the applicable prospectus supplement. We have not determined the number of net proceeds that will be used specifically for any particular purpose.”

Details of the Purchase

MicroStrategy detailed that as of September 08, it had 129,699 BTC which were purchased at a total purchase price of $3.977 billion and an average purchase price of approximately 30,664 per Bitcoin. Additionally, 14,589 of your BTCs are held by MicroStrategy Incorporated directly and 115,110 of the BTCs are held by MacroStrategy LLC, so 14,589 BTCs held directly by MicroStrategy Incorporated serve as collateral for senior notes.

“We expect to purchase additional BTC in future periods, including with the net proceeds from this offering as described in Use of Proceeds, although we may also sell Bitcoins in future periods as needed to generate cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments for treasury management purposes.”

MicroStrategy Advances That It Will Continue Buying More BTC

The last BTC purchase by MicroStrategy was on June 29, when the company revealed that it bought 480 Bitcoin (BTC) for $10 million. Thus, the new purchase becomes the first since April, when MicroStrategy acquired 4,167 BTC weeks before the cryptocurrency market crash.

The MicroStrategy purchase came amid a prolonged bear market which, according to Glassnode, is the most significant in history. At the beginning of the month of June, Bitcoin was trading at approximately $31,500. However, following the cryptocurrency market crash, the largest cryptocurrency by capitalization fell to levels not seen since 2020.

MicroStrategy clarifies in its letter to the SEC that the number of Class A common shares that will be outstanding immediately following this offering, as shown in the letter, is based on 9,342,094 shares outstanding as of September 7, 2022.

However, the company clarifies the following:

“Our management may not apply our net proceeds in a way that will ultimately increase the value of your investment. Our management’s failure to apply these funds effectively could harm our business. If we do not invest or apply the net proceeds of this offering in a manner that enhances shareholder value.”

It further explains that future fluctuations in Bitcoin trading prices may result in Bitcoin purchased with the net proceeds of this offering being converted into cash with a value substantially less than the net proceeds of this offering.

By Audy Castaneda

Queen Elizabeth Inu: Shitcoins emerge after the death of Queen Elizabeth II

Audy Castañeda
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Queen Elizabeth Inu: Shitcoins emerge after the death of Queen Elizabeth II

A number of meme cryptocurrencies have been bourne out of her death.

Shitcoins is one of the terms used to refer to certain cryptocurrencies. It is a derogatory term that seeks to point out assets that are fraudulent, are not attractive, do not contribute anything, or have failed.

Benjamin Isaza, trader at BeInCrypto en Español, comments that shitcoins are “digital currencies that people believe are valuable just because they exist. They generally have low market caps, allowing a small number of investors to manipulate prices with little effort.”

On the other hand, although a MemeCoin can end up converted into a ShitCoin or can be conceived as such. However, some Meme cryptocurrencies, such as Dogecoin, do not qualify for junk status as they have known teams, identifiable projects, and recognizable milestones.

Queen Elizabeth Inu

Queen Elizabeth Inu is now a thing. In fact, it is “a thing” 40 times more. Shitcoins and meme cryptocurrencies are pouring out of the networks at an astonishing rate.

Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom from February 1952 until her death last night. She reigned for 70 years and 214 days. This was the longest reign of any British monarch. At the time of her death, Queen Elizabeth II was the queen of 14 other Commonwealth realms, including Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

While fans of the monarchy were saddened by Her Majesty’s passing, coin projects took advantage of free publicity. They launched royal-themed tokens on Binance’s BNB chain and on Ethereum.

Sad moments for some do not mean mourning for others. Surprisingly, Queen Elizabeth Inu cried. And the Save the Queen chips are on the same path.

According to the Twitter account @Zazoo_Me, “cryptocurrency scammers have seized the opportunity to launch over 40 Queen-themed meme cryptocurrencies on Ethereum and Binance’s BNB chain, just hours after her passing.”

So far, the 40+ crypto coins and NFT dumps are selling with mind-boggling trading volume.

The account names the coins as follows:

  • Queen Elizabeth Inu
  • Queen Doge
  • God Save The Queen
  • London Bridge Is Down
  • Queen Grow
  • Rip Queen Elizabeth
  • Elizabeth II
  • Queen Inu II

The account says that prices are extremely volatile and “highly unlikely to sustain on their own. The most liquid tokens have already processed $900,000 in trading volume: Save the Queen $700,000, Queen Elizabeth Inu $200,000.”

King Charles Inu

Tokens bearing the name of the new overlord of the Commonwealth, King Charles III, also appear on the scene.

King Charles Inu (CHARLES) is already off to a great start and is expected to continue to climb considering the publicity that will come from his impending coronation.

There seems to be no limit to the shitcoins and meme cryptocurrencies that the crypto community will buy. God save the king. Looks like people are going to need a lot of savings.

Nevertheless, investing in shitcoins seems to be a bad decision, since they are high risk and rarely offer rewards. At a time when crypto tulip mania and the cryptocurrency bubble have already burst, discerning fundamental studies in which digital assets to invest is essential.

By Audy Castaneda

The White House Recommends Turning Cryptocurrency Mining into a Greener Activity

Alexander Salazar
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The White House Recommends Turning Cryptocurrency Mining into a Greener Activity

According to the report, the DoE and the EPA would help minimize greenhouse gas emissions, noise, water pollution, and the negative economic impact of mining. The White House commissioned the EPA to revolutionize the power grid to guarantee a future with clean energy.

According to a recent report from the White House, cryptocurrency technologies contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, and noise. That has prevented the federal agency from achieving net-zero carbon pollution, consistent with US climate commitments and goals.

The report from the White House Office of Science and Technology responded to the executive order by US President Joe Biden. The government document highlights the challenges and opportunities of cryptocurrencies regarding energy issues and climate change.

The White House Gives Crucial Recommendations to Protect the Environment

They recommend that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DoE) initiate a class action proceeding with various cryptocurrency companies. They seek to develop active evidence-based environmental performance standards for the responsible use of cryptocurrency technologies.

According to the report, the administration should explore executive action, and Congress may limit the use of energy-intensive consensus mechanisms for cryptocurrency mining.

The DoE and the EPA should provide technical assistance to state public utility commissions, environmental protection agencies, and the cryptocurrency industry. That would allow building capacity to minimize greenhouse gas emissions, noise, water pollution, and the negative economic impact of cryptocurrency mining.

The White House Recommends Cryptocurrency Miners Provide Personal Information

The report also deals with power reliability, personal information from cryptocurrency miners, and electrical utilities. The document states that this information will remain confidential and allow federal agencies to assess crypto asset energy and climate implications.

According to the cryptocurrency community, cryptocurrency mining can benefit the environment. However, the report from the White House says that over 100 million new storage devices will connect to the grid by 2040.

Since they believe it will drain the electricity in the country, they commissioned the EPA to revolutionize the power grid. The White House pointed out this will guarantee a future with clean energy and protect communities from pollution and climate change.

Cryptocurrencies Have Increased Their Energy Consumption Three Times Since 2021

Global crypto assets have quickly increased their demand for electricity between 2018 and 2022, doubling consumption by August 2022. The White House reported between 120 and 240 billion kWh per year, which exceeds the annual consumption in countries like Argentina and Australia. That an equivalent to between 0.4% and 0.9% of the electricity consumption worldwide.

A third of global cryptocurrency operations might be in the United States, consuming between 0.9% and 1.7% of electricity. That range of electricity consumption compares to all home computers or all residential lighting in the country.

The US share of global mining for Bitcoin, the pioneering cryptocurrency, has risen from 3.5% in 2020 to 38%. The electricity consumption for cryptocurrency mining in the United States has tripled since January 2021, although it remains relatively small.

By Alexander Salazar

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