The Argentine government eradicated energy subsidies aimed at cryptocurrency miners.

The Argentine Secretary of Energy stopped directing energy subsidies to crypto miners. The measure skyrocketed the cost of energy to at least four times what miners paid before. The procedure impacted critically customers of electrical sources in Tierra del Fuego, far in the south of the nation.

The measure impacted the activity in the Argentine region, which is one of the most needed places to carry out mining activities due to its specific climatic characteristics, including the cold areas.

According to a new resolution 40/2022, which got revealed and achieved official status on February 1, the new energy price for miners in zones like Ushuaia and the Río Grande would circle 5,000 ARS (or USD 47.50) per MW/H. Before this resolution got revealed, these miners used to pay at least 1,764 ARS (or $16.76) per MW/h.

The real ambitions that lay behind this sudden change appeared in the resolution. The current resolution highlights that it is suitable for these users to go through a payment equivalent to the cost of supply.

The Details Inside of this Resolution

The resolution impacted miners that carry out their activities in the province of Tierra del Fuego. It is in this place where most miners in Argentina got based; this is because of the cold climate that makes the establishment of mining farms easier and works properly without harsh cooling capabilities.

The Undersecretary of Electric Power also stated in the resolution sent CAMMESA, the electric company, a brief note asking for vital data concerning new consumption related to activities like crypto mining, which could allow a testing phase to study current and future demand. The demand for this newborn economic activity has been increasing recently.

Challenge for an Electric Company Like Cammesa

Cammesa, the energy company currently based in Argentina, is now struggling with an important challenge. The company is working hard to identify which sources are receiving the supplied energy for cryptocurrency mining purposes. During a series of investigations that took effect last year, the company identified at least two cryptocurrency mining facilities carrying out activities in the zone.

According to various media outlets, there is no official information regarding the current situation but, there is zero doubt that more and more people and companies are now carrying out mining activities to boost the cryptocurrency market.

It is also relevant to consider that in November 2021, various reports highlighted that the Canadian-based mining giant Bitfarms revealed the creation of a mining mega-farm with operations n Argentina, specifically in the province of Córdoba. The construction of this mega-farm to mine crypto goes in association with a private power plant.

Bitfarms stated that it would purchase the power directly from this private electricity company, without generating any impact on the electricity grid that feeds the South American Nation, so the power supply would not be harmed by this procedure.

By: Jenson Nuñez

A number of cryptocurrency exchanges and advocacy groups from different countries have come together to form a coalition aimed at fighting market manipulation.

A group of crypto companies such as Circle, Anchorage Digital, and Huobi Global formed a coalition to take action against market manipulation. With this, they seek to generate trust in the growing sector of digital assets.

The so-called Crypto Market Integrity Coalition, convened by Solidus Labs, a risk monitoring software company, urges crypto businesses – digital currency companies – to sign a “market integrity” pledge. It recognizes the potential for cryptocurrency fraud and the need for the industry to protect investors.

“It’s about recognizing that you need entities focused on a fair and orderly system that try to prevent the abuses that can happen if you don’t pay attention,” said Kathy Kraninger, vice president of regulatory affairs at Solidus Labs.

How the coalition of crypto companies will be able to stop possible fraud?

The new alliance and commitment come at a time when regulators are concerned about the safety of the new market for investors.

In fact, the potential for market manipulation is one of the main reasons for rejecting applications for spot bitcoin ETFs, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Recently, the markets regulator vetoed a proposal by Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust to offer an ETF (exchange-traded fund) that would track the cryptocurrency. This since it determined that the proposal did not comply with the rules designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative practices.

In December 2021, the Bank for International Settlements called for more guidelines to prevent cryptocurrency fraud. Their argument was that anonymity coupled with limited enforcement of anti-money laundering rules exposes DeFi (decentralized finance) to illegal activities and market manipulation.

The CMIC pledge includes a commitment to “maintain fair and orderly digital asset markets and prevent market abuse.” The group said it planned to eventually share its own research on cryptocurrencies, as well as establish a dialogue with regulators and consider a shared surveillance and data-sharing framework.

“Harmonizing a broad global approach to digital assets and competition in the race for digital currency space can improve America’s competitiveness, security, and lower fundamental costs for basic financial access,” said the Circle’s chief strategy officer and head of global policy Dante Disparte. “CMIC’s commitment brings together the industry’s leading players to advance market integrity standards.”

This new commitment is an important recognition of the potential for fraud in the cryptocurrency space. However, it is still unclear how the decentralized finance sector can curb bad actors.

The group’s 17 founding members include US crypto advocacy group Digital Chamber of Commerce, UK-based self-regulatory trade association CryptoUK, and international think tank Global Digital Finance. Also joining the coalition are crypto data provider CryptoCompare, Anchorage Digital, the first crypto firm to receive a letter from the US national banking regulator, and Circle, the company behind the stablecoin, USDC.

Cryptocurrency companies and industry leaders have formed other groups aimed at addressing challenges in mass adoption and among regulators. In September 2020, Square – now Block – started a consortium aimed at pooling patents related to cryptocurrencies and Blockchain technology to “defend against patent abusers and trolls.” In February 2021, Chainlink, Aave, Messari, and others launched the GoodFi alliance to focus on furthering decentralized finance education and research.

By Audy Castaneda

The popular meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin (DOGE) experienced a performance loss against Shiba Inu (SHIB). However, Dogecoin may be preparing to return to its old glory days. The latest social media data for DOGE reflects that its popularity has returned.

The latest social media data for the most popular meme cryptocurrency has become available. DOGE seems to have recently fallen down the popularity ladder as compared to Shiba Inu (SHIB). However, now it looks like DOGE is getting ready to be as popular as it used to be.

Dogecoin stands out on social networks

The number of followers of the official Dogecoin Twitter account has now surpassed three million users, becoming thus the cryptocurrency with the most followers after Bitcoin, which has 4.5 million followers Shiba Inu, known as the “Dogecoin killer”, closely follows it with 2.7 million followers.

The Dogecoin Twitter account has seen a 681% increase in followers in just one year. Furthermore, the popular meme cryptocurrency also scored a similar victory on Reddit, a platform on which Dogecoin has 2.3 million subscribers.

Looking back at 2021, the most talked-about cryptocurrency on Reddit in 2021 was DOGE. It is worth keeping in mind that Dogecoin is experiencing price rallies fueled by Elon Musk, especially since news came up that Tesla was accepting DOGE as payment for some company items. Because of these events, Dogecoin surpassed one million followers in April 2021.

Despite the above mentioned, not all has been rosy in 2021. Dogecoin’s impressive growth stalled after the price started falling in early May. Overall, the most popular meme cryptocurrency outperformed the vast majority of other cryptocurrencies in 2021.

At the time of writing, it appears that things are looking up, although Dogecoin was 79.80% below its peak. Despite such price drop, DOGE remains the 11th largest cryptocurrency by market cap.

Dogecoin partners think differently about cryptomarkets

Dogecoin co-founder Billy Markus, using the nickname Shibetoshi Nakamoto on Twitter, also surpassed one million Twitter followers. Markus is now one of the most followed cryptocurrency founders.

Australian programmer Jackson Palmer, who co-created DOGE with Markus, has a more modest 41,600 followers. At this point, it is worth noting the different approaches of Palmer and Markus towards the crypto markets. While Markus has interacted with Elon Musk many times, Palmer is harshly critical of the cryptocurrency industry.

In a tweet that went viral in July 2021, Jackson Palmer described the cryptocurrency industry as a “powerful cartel” run by the wealthy.

Can DOGE go back to the old days?

SHIB managed to attract investors in October last year, sparking speculation that the rise of SHIB might be because of Elon Musk, who shared a photo of his Shiba Inu dog. This, in turn, led to the rumor that Elon Musk would move away from Dogecoin and switch to a new meme token.

SHIB support from Musk while on the rise, while DOGE did not receive the same amount of attention, made the community think that DOGE could no longer be the same as before. However, this seems to be changing.

As of the last quarter of 2021, Shiba Inu entered a downward trend and fell in market rankings. SHIB, which was ranked 9th on October 27, is ranked 15th today. In contrast, DOGE currently ranks as the 11th most important cryptocurrency in the market.

By Audy Castaneda

Texas Senator Ted Cruz revealed that he bought up to $50,000 worth of Bitcoin during his crash last month. At the time of Cruz’s acquisition, Bitcoin was trading at around $37,000. Texas is thus quickly becoming a crypto mining hub, with a potential municipal coin in Austin.

With the value of Bitcoin dipping below the $40,000 level in the first month of 2022, many crypto enthusiasts saw it as an opportunity to dwell on the space. On January 25, the Texas senator bought between $15,001 and $50,000 worth of BTC. He says he used River Brokerage to buy the asset when Bitcoin was trading around $36,000 and $37,000 during a sell-off.

While the value of the cryptocurrency has since risen to over $40,000 in the days since, this means that Cruz’s purchase should have earned a profit of at least $2,000, as of press time.

Texas: A new crypto mining hub?

The lawmaker’s purchase is not surprising, considering that he is one of the few proponents of the blockchain industry and cryptocurrencies among lawmakers in the United States Congress. In November last year, Senator Cruz proposed that merchants serving Congress should have the option to receive their payments in cryptocurrency.

To Texas’ advantage, Cruz publicly supports cryptocurrency, specifically, Bitcoin, joining the state’s march forward to become a new crypto mining hub.

Due to its proliferation of pro-crypto policies and cheap electricity, Texas has quickly become a place of choice for many Bitcoin supporters, who have been searching for affordable energy sources to mine the digital asset.

The city of Austin has also reportedly collaborated with CityCoins for its AustinCoin ATX. However, the mining of AustinCoin ATX has not yet started.

Other US cities rumored to join the cryptocurrency move

There are rumors that Philadelphia will soon join as a potential third party in the growing CityCoins portfolio, with Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and Chief Information Officer Mark Wheeler expressing public support for joining CityCoins.

However, due to the harsh weather conditions ahead in the state, miners have voluntarily chosen to shut down their operations to help authorities conserve energy during the crisis, given the national winter storm that Texas experienced in 2021. This gesture has earned the mining community more praise and friends from the public.

By Audy Castaneda

The demand for remittances in cryptocurrencies has presented a noticeable growth in recent months.

Statistics from Coinpay.cr proves that remittances sent to Venezuela, Argentina, and Brazil have increased 900% in the last year. Latin America makes a difference due to its adaptation to cryptocurrencies and the great usability that cryptoactives have within the countries.

The growth of cryptocurrencies in LATAM

According to studies by Chainalisys, the growth of cryptocurrencies in LATAM is mainly because they have served as an alternative for many people to send remittances mainly from the United States to Latin America, where they have gone from 100 to 400 million dollars sent between 2020 and 2021.

The interest and acceptance of the population are because crypto assets also represent a way to protect their money from any monetary devaluation with the use of stable cryptocurrencies such as USDT, USDC, among others. People in LATAM are using cryptocurrency as an alternative for sending money from the United States, as payment networks, and even as a source of full-time work.

Good use of remittances in cryptocurrencies

Experts such as Jorge Pasapera, founder of Coinpay.cr, suggest that the ideal is for people to collect as much reliable information as possible before selling, buying, or exchanging cryptocurrencies, since it lends itself to possible theft or fraud.

“Remittances and cryptocurrency transactions have grown between 800% and 900% in a single year, and if a good approach is known and the country promotes it in the correct way, it can be widely accepted as it is easier than resorting to traditional systems”

Pasapera asserts that you have to know how to use a cryptocurrency, as well as the means to solve the points in the remittance route, such as: where to acquire the currency, considering that its value can fluctuate. Above all, there is the need to know where or how they can exchange the cryptocurrency at its final destination without unnecessary high costs.

In terms of the benefits of making remittances by using cryptocurrencies, it is worth mentioning the globalization of transfers, and the great opportunity that they can be received from anywhere in the world or from the same country, always 24/7. An example is Costa Rica, where the number of transactions from 2020 to 2021 increased by 200%, being the average approximately $200, according to data compiled by Coinpay.cr.

By Audy Castaneda