A Massive Meeting of 44 Countries on Bitcoin in El Salvador

The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, announced that 32 central banks and 12 financial authorities from countries around the world would arrange a meeting in the country to share their thoughts on Bitcoin.

As the crypto ecosystem in general, Bitcoin has seen a sharp decline following Luna’s UST stable coin crash, which lost parity with the dollar to reach USD 0 levels. Thousands of people lost their funds and investments due to this enormous crisis, including nations like El Salvador and companies like Tesla.

Amid this uncertain panorama, the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, revealed on Twitter that 32 central banks and 12 financial authorities from 44 countries would meet in his nation to carry on various debates about financial inclusion.

The leader also discussed some subjects that would get addressed in the meeting; these subjects are improvements in the digital economy, banking, Bitcoin in El Salvador, and its advantages for the nation.

Countries Attending El Salvador Event

In the thread, he also announced which countries would assist in the event: the Central Bank of São Tomé and Príncipe, the Central Bank of Paraguay, the National Bank of Angola, the Bank of Ghana, the Bank of Namibia, the Bank of Uganda, Republic of Guinea, the Central Bank of Madagascar.

Other nations present at the event are the Bank of the Republic of Haiti, the Bank of the Republic of Burundi, the Central Bank of Eswatini and its Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Jordan, the Central Bank of the Gambia, the National Committee for Banks and Insurance of Honduras, among others.

In another tweet, the Salvadoran president added that the National Bank of Rwanda, Nepal Rastra Bank, Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA), Kenya, State Bank of Pakistan, General Superintendence of Financial Entities of Costa Rica, Superintendence of Popular and Solidarity Economy of Ecuador.

The leader also highlighted that the central banks of Egypt, Jordan, Nigeria, Senegal, the Dominican Republic, Mauritania, Congo, Armenia, Bangladesh, and, of course, El Salvador itself also got added to the list.

Will More Countries Adopt BTC?

On Friday, May 13, the Bitcoin Beach Twitter account revealed entities like The central bankers from Angola, Armenia, Bangladesh, Burundi, Congo, Costa Rica, Egypt, Gambia, Ghana, India, Namibia, Senegal, Sudan, Uganda, Zambia would meet in El Salvador.

Bitcoin Beach alluded to the International Monetary Fund, saying that a meeting of this nature means nothing, but immediately presented the world map highlighting the number of nations present at the event.

Twelve years after the birth of the leading crypto, El Salvador became the first nation to accept bitcoin as legal tender. Eight months later, the Central African Republic did, and Panama could become the third territory to get it if the president of that Central American nation signed his recent Bitcoin bill.

In this meeting, countries from all over the world met in El Salvador to discuss financial inclusion and how the adoption of Bitcoin can benefit them.

By: Jenson Nuñez

Robert Kiyosaki Believes the Drop in the Bitcoin Price Is an Opportunity to Become Rich

Kiyosaki sees Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation and says he will buy the dips while its price plummets. The renowned investor has recommended that investors acquire gold, silver, and Bitcoin amid hyperinflation and recession.

Amid a bearish market that has affected cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is trading at around USD 30,000. Due to the sharp drop in its price, many investors are interested in buying the cryptocurrency cheaply.

Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the personal finance book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, is among those interested in acquiring Bitcoin. The renowned businessman and investor recently expressed his position on the current status of the crypto market.

Kiyosaki believes cryptocurrencies are a hedge against inflation and values them for their decentralized nature. He commented it is good news that the Bitcoin price is plummeting and that he is ready to buy the dips.

The personal finance expert explained why he thinks that market crashes are good. Citing the above book, he said that profit comes when buying an asset, not when selling it. He stated that he would buy Bitcoin when it bottoms out as he thinks it is the future of money. In addition, he highlighted that this is the ideal time to become rich.

The American author expects BTC to rebound after the decline in its price. He reiterated that the current market situation is the best to invest in the pioneering cryptocurrency.

Kiyosaki Thinks the US Government Will Make Bitcoin Win

Robert Kiyosaki recently expressed that he believes that Bitcoin will win despite the drop in its price. He referred to those leading the US (President Joe Biden, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell) as the Three Stooges. The personal finance author said he trusted the cryptocurrency created by Satoshi Nakamoto, not the above government officials.

On other occasions, the renowned investor has expressed his mistrust of the Biden administration, Wall Street, and the Federal Reserve. For several years, Kiyosaki has recommended that investors acquire Bitcoin as soon as possible while it is dropping.

In April, he stated the hugest burst of the bubble was coming and called the government, Wall Street, and the Federal Reserve thieves. He also pointed out that hyperinflation and recession are here and advised investors to purchase gold, silver, and Bitcoin.

Despite that, Kiyosaki does not think the outlook for the cryptocurrency market is very positive. In March, the expert warned that the US government would try to seize cryptocurrencies and convert them into a government cryptocurrency. After that, he said that the war between Russia and Ukraine made people see cryptocurrencies as a safer store of value. He referred to the excessive printing of banknotes by the Fed as fake money.

The cryptocurrency fear and greed index is currently at extreme fear, indicating that investors are concerned about crypto assets. However, it also represents an excellent opportunity to buy Bitcoin, as Robert Kiyosaki has stated.

Bitcoin is trading at around USD 30,062 and has accumulated a 1.3% gain over the last 24 hours. While its trading volume is above USD 24.02 billion, its market capitalization is about USD 572.35 billion, according to CoinGecko.

By Alexander Salazar

The Bitcoin Network Stores Digital Energy, According to Michael Saylor

The pioneering cryptocurrency has gone from providing an opportunity and a strategy to becoming an ideology. Large capitals obtain profits through loans in an inflationary environment where the national currency devalues.

Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy, made his firm the first publicly-traded company with the most BTC in its treasury. For that reason, many specialists consider that the billionaire entrepreneur is a prominent Bitcoin evangelist.

Saylor recently talked to Chris Keshian, head of digital assets at NeoFlow Asset Management, about Bitcoin as digital energy. The co-founder of MicroStrategy explained that not all transmitted data is energy, despite the explosion of digital information in recent decades.

The executive said nobody could buy a building using a digital copy of Beethoven’s sixth symphony transmitted from New York to Tokyo. He thinks that the sale would violate physics laws, making the cost of the building rise a million times due to inflation.

However, the recipient in Tokyo could acquire it if he received the private keys allowing access to USD 1 billion in Bitcoin. Saylor stated that it is about political energy, possible through an exchange, in which the cryptocurrency is simply a medium.

The recipient of the Bitcoin funds can convert them into goods and services, but the sender of the funds loses that ability. In that way, Saylor highlighted that  Bitcoin prevents double-spending and allows transferring money on a peer-to-peer (P2P) network.

The specialist said that Bitcoin as energy moves at a low frequency in the base layer, allowing a low number of transactions. However, the executive noted that the frequency increases significantly in the second layer (Lightning Network).

The US Dollar vs. Bitcoin as Treasury Reserve Asset

The CEO of MicroStrategy pointed out that his company began acquiring Bitcoin as part of its strategic reserve. He said they turned it into a defensive measure against the expansionary monetary policy of the US Federal Reserve.

He explained that a company would lose USD 150 million to USD 200 million a year if it kept USD 1 billion in cash reserves. He suggested borrowing and having negative working capital, but paying fixed interest would make the devaluation of the currency favor the company.

Saylor acknowledged that investing in Bitcoin as a defensive practice was opportunistic. He highlighted that they underwrote a debt of USD 650 million at 1% and bought the crypto asset. He said it seemed a good idea to go short on the US dollar and long on Bitcoin.

In that way, acquisitions became part of the strategy used by the company, as the next loan to buy Bitcoin was for USD 1 billion. The executive said they went from a reflection to an opportunity and then to a strategy around the cryptocurrency.

Finally, the billionaire entrepreneur responded to those criticizing Bitcoin for allegedly consuming much energy. He stated that they do not understand that the Proof-of-Work (PoW) protocol transforms energy. He argued that any token requires spending on energy to have value, which makes Bitcoin a valuable asset.

By Alexander Salazar

The Cryptocurrency NEAR Protocol Temporarily Detaches from the Bearish Market Sentiment

The NEAR price remains locked in a significant ascending channel, but the weakness to reach new highs creates a bearish divergence signal. Although it had a slight rally after demand at the USD 10.33 support, it might break through that level shortly.

Amid bearish market sentiment, the cryptocurrency NEAR Protocol (NEAR) tries to avoid higher losses. The price became temporarily detached from the dominant trend in the crypto market.

NEAR is trading at around USD 7.37 and has accumulated a 6.7% gain over the last 24 hours. Its daily trading volume is above USD 1.09 billion, and its market capitalization is around USD 5.05 billion. It occupies 20th place in the cryptocurrency ranking, according to CoinGecko.

NEAR Protocol is a layer one blockchain designed as a community-managed cloud computing platform. It aims to eliminate some limitations congesting some networks, like slow transactions, low performance, and poor interoperability.

What Led to the Current Rally of NEAR Protocol

As the launch of the NEAR Protocol platform occurred in 2020, its adoption is just starting. That has allowed the price of its currency to grow strongly over the last few months.

The daily volume of transactions has increased by 140% during the last month alone. The number of users has grown exponentially since the beginning of the network, rising by 60% over the past month.

Those figures reveal the level of adoption of that project since they have emerged amid a general slowdown in the crypto market.

Weekly Analysis of the Price NEAR Protocol

The weekly NEAR/USDT chart shows that the price has a lot of long-term bullish strength.

The value of almost all crypto market participants dropped or remained locked into sideways ranges. Even though the price of NEAR continued to look for new all-time highs, it did so rather weakly.

Currently, the price of that cryptocurrency remains locked in a significant ascending channel, a sign of resilience by the buyers. However, the lack of strength to reach new highs creates a bearish divergence between the price chart and the RSI indicator.

The price of NEAR might break the channel where it is through the bottom, leading to a significant drop.

After that happens, the prevailing upward trend may quickly curb selling, reaching the new low before resuming that direction.

Short-Term Levels in the Price of NEAR

Although the price of the cryptocurrency NEAR protocol recently had a rally, there are no signs of a strong bullish trend.

The monthly chart shows that the short-term tendency of the price of NEAR is bearish. It maintains the 8-day EMA and 18-day SMA crossed to the downside following that direction.

The cryptocurrency had a slight rally after generating demand at the USD 10.33 support. However, it will most likely break that level within the next few days.

Before thinking of a significant rise in the price of NEAR, it must overcome the resistance at USD 12.98. That increase would allow for the creation of increasingly high lows.

By Alexander Salazar

Bitcoin Miners Benefit despite the Low Profitability of the Activity

According to statistics by Braiins, the Bitcoin hash rate has resumed its all-time high of 228 exahashes per second. The hash price has dropped by 50% from its highest point in late March to its lowest level over the last year.

The low profitability of the activity has not overwhelmed Bitcoin miners, who continue to increase their mining power. That has led the difficulty of BTC mining to hit a new all-time high in the last few days.

Bitcoin mining difficulty recently broke another record after it reached 31.25 trillion (T). As its previous value was 29.7 T, it means it increased by 5%.

The adjustment of Bitcoin mining difficulty is a mechanism that aims to stabilize the production of blocks on the network. That change occurs automatically every 2,016 mined blocks, which takes about two weeks.

The difficulty of BTC mining rises if the average hash rate on the network is very high and vice versa. The Bitcoin network thus seeks to keep an average of 1 mined block every 10 minutes.

The same as with mining difficulty, the hash rate of the Bitcoin network is also increasing. According to statistics by Braiins, the BTC hash rate has resumed its all-time high of 228 exahashes per second (EH/s).

The Hash Price Decreases as the Hash rate Increases

The profitability of Bitcoin mining, unlike its hash rate and mining difficulty, is to the downside. The current Bitcoin hash price is USD 0.12 per terahash per second per day (TH/s/d), the lowest in 12 months. In other words, an Antminer S19 model ASIC miner should average daily gross earnings of around USD 11.40. Of course, that varies depending on the cost of electricity.

Variations in mining difficulty, fees per transaction, and the BTC price in the market influence the fluctuations in the Bitcoin hash price.

The mining difficulty has risen while the price of BTC has dropped, leading the hash price to decline by over 50%.  It went from its highest point of the year, in late March, to its lowest level over the past year.

As a result of that drop in the hash price, Bitcoin miners have gradually increased their hash rate. They have not decreased their participation in the mining activity to save on operational expenses, as anyone would have expected.

Since July 2021, the Bitcoin hash rate has risen constantly, ignoring the minor fluctuations that may have occurred.

It is not the first time Bitcoin miners have increased mining power when profitability is low. On other similar occasions, the response of the workers of the network has been the same.

In September 2021, when the Bitcoin hash rate increased steadily, mining profitability dropped by over 25% in a month.

Bitcoin is trading at around USD 30,679 and has accumulated a 5.2% gain over the last 24 hours. Its daily trading volume is above USD 73.06 billion, and its market capitalization is about USD 568.48 billion.

By Alexander Salazar

The Price of Ether Defends Its Most Relevant Support Zone

As the drop in the ETH price does not yet seem to have bottomed out, there might be more selling or volatility. If the value of ETH lost the support at USD 1,728, the ground would be clear for USD 1,571.

Amid a wave of extreme fear in the crypto market, Ether (ETH) reached a relevant support zone around USD 2,000. The following analysis provides information on where the value of ETH might head next in the coming days.

Ether is trading at around USD 2,049 and has accumulated a 7.2% gain over the last 24 hours. While its trading volume is above USD 24.87 billion, its market capitalization is about USD 247.54 billion, according to CoinGecko.

The fear fueled by the crash of TerraUSD (UST) led to sell-offs in the crypto market, which has caused a lot of trouble.

In addition, the bearish tide of the traditional markets places investors under further selling pressure. The expectations about increasing interest rates rise due to the news about the 8.3% inflation in the United States.

The Technical Analysis of the Price of ETH

When the crypto market crashes, the price of the native token of the Ethereum network also drops. The outlook looks somewhat bearish as it has just broken through support at USD 2,276.

However, the monthly chart shows that the price of ETH is still within a higher demand zone. There is a slight probability that a bullish rally will start in that area.

A Fibonacci line drawn from the lowest point of the bullish rally starting in 2020 allows seeing the price currently testing 61.8%. That is an optimal level where the value of ETH generally reaches the bottom of corrective processes.

There is still no confirmation that the drop in the price of Ether has bottomed out. There will most likely be more selling or volatility in the short term. If the price of ETH lost its current support zone, the ground would be clear for USD 1,105.

Some analysts do not expect a too deep crypto winter in the markets and the economy in the coming months. They think that a little more volatility may be enough to reach the bottom.

The Daily Analysis of the Price of ETH

The daily ETH/USDT shows that the short-term trend is bearish for the Ether price, which might cause further trouble in the coming days.

If the price continues to reach increasingly low lows in this time frame, there may be more selling in the short term. A sideways behavior might be the least worrying thing that could happen shortly.

The price of ETH recently rejected a significant support level at USD 1,728. There might be at least one relief rally in the next few days.

If the value of ETH lost that support level, the ground would be clear for USD 1,571.

Before confirming that the bulls have regained control of the short-term trend, the price must break through the immediate resistance at USD 2,340.

By Alexander Salazar