The primary driver of Bitcoin adoption in Spain is the possibility of generating profits despite the risks. Twenty-seven percent of the respondents have bought cryptocurrencies, whose popularity increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is relevant to know the factors driving the adoption of cryptocurrencies to understand how they contribute to the well-being of people. A survey provides details about why people use Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies in the Spanish territory.

Capterra, a Spanish website specializing in company-software consulting, conducted and published the abovementioned study. Nine hundred ninety-seven people residing in Spain, of legal age and already familiar with the concept of cryptocurrencies participated in the survey.

More than half of the respondents (51%) said that the main reason for buying cryptocurrencies is to generate profits despite the risks.

The belief in a decentralized system with no institution regulating it is the second reason. Forty-seven percent (47%) of the participants in the survey favored that option.

Another 38% stressed that the use of cryptocurrencies allows integrating into an alternative and innovative environment. Meanwhile, almost the same percentage of people (37%) remarked that they could help avoid the traditional banking system.

The use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to conduct private transactions was important for 32% of individuals. The last thing that 27% of those surveyed mentioned was the possibility of making cheap international transactions.

Reasons Why Some People Do Not Use Bitcoin in Spain

The respondents that still do not use cryptocurrencies mentioned four reasons why they do not buy Bitcoin. These are lack of knowledge (54%), risks due to volatility (43%), security concerns (35%), and their possible disappearance or illegality (31%).

Part of the audience that still does not use cryptocurrencies indicated the main factors contributing to greater adoption. They mentioned government regulation (45%) and a greater understanding of the concept (43%), respectively.

Reasons Why People Use Bitcoin in Latin America

Looking at what is happening on the other side of the Atlantic helps better understand the data Capterra provides. Latin Americans use Bitcoin mainly as a hedge against the inflation they experience in the region. For that reason, it stands as one of the best options to safeguard the value of savings.

However, there is also inflation in both the United States and Europe. For example, living in Spain on the euro becomes increasingly expensive due to the printing of money by states.

Bitcoin also emerges as a long-term investment among young people in the United States. It is a resource to undergo inflationary periods without losing much money. Besides, the search consists of taking advantage of a possible increase in the price in the not-so short term.

Other Relevant Data About Bitcoin in Spain

The most popular currencies among the respondents of that survey did not cause any surprise. Bitcoin, Ether (ETH) and Cardano (ADA) were among the top 3. Meanwhile, Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LITE), Solana (SOL) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) closely followed them.

Twenty-seven percent said they have bought cryptocurrencies, 44% intend to do it, and 29% have not done it and do not plan to do it. Interest in those digital assets grew during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report.

Among those buying it, 43% are between 23 and 35 years old, while almost the same percentage (42%) are between 36 and 55 years old.

By Alexander Salazar

Average transaction fees on Ethereum stand between USD 40 and USD 50 after rising to USD 63 a few weeks ago. Second-layer solutions allow delegating the processing of the primary blockchain before establishing the final balances on the primary base-layer network.

The Total Value Locked (TVL) on Ethereum’s second-layer networks recently reached a new all-time high. The fees for the transactions of the primary layer keep increasing steadily, driving further adoption.

The second layer of the Ethereum network offers much higher returns on transactions and lower rates. That tier has grown considerably in November when there are the highest fees in the history of the mainnet.

Arbitrum, one of the most widely used rollups, contains the largest share of Ethereum’s second-layer market. It amounts to USD 2.67 billion, which is about 43.55% of the total US dollars locked.

On the ground, a rollup gathers various transactions of the Ethereum network in a single operation. In other words, it is possible to group the highest number of transactions within the same block. A considerable decrease in the fee costs allows increasing the rate of transactions per second (TPS) of the network.

Besides, average transaction fees on the Ethereum network currently stand between USD 40 and USD 50, according to Bitinfocharts. A few weeks ago, the rates reached the second-highest level in history, rising to USD 63. The average rates on the mainnet have increased by 2,180% since last year.

The Second Layer of Ethereum Could Solve Poor Scalability

The objective of the second layer of the Ethereum network is to solve the issue of poor scalability of the mainnet. That allows optimizing the transactions on the blockchain, thus reducing its congestion.

The implementation of second-layer solutions began due to the significant increase in transaction fees in the base layer of Ethereum. Those solutions delegate the processing of the primary blockchain to its secondary blockchain before establishing the final balances on the primary base-layer network.

Second-layer solutions like Arbitrum provide an inexpensive scalability alternative for decentralized exchanges and apps to use the Ethereum network at low rates. The costs of transactions are still rising, which has caused the second-layer ecosystem for this blockchain to gain popularity rapidly.

The Reasons Why There Are Higher Fees on the Ethereum Network

Analysts consider that various factors currently influence the congestion of the Ethereum network. They include the boom in projects based on non-fungible tokens (NFTs) like CryptoPunks and Play to Earn games.

The number of business transactions seems to be the most likely element to influence the price of transaction fees. Experts believe that the spike in network activity and costs is partly due to the latest craze for memecoins like Shiba Inu.

If users scheduled non-urgent transactions according to the hours when there is less traffic on the network, their savings could be significant. They could also use existing solutions to automate tasks without coding any action, leading to lower fees.

Ether is currently trading at around USD 4,291 and has accumulated 3.4% in the last 24 hours. Its daily trading volume is nearly USD 22 billion, and its market capitalization is about USD 508 billion, according to CoinGecko.

 By Alexander Salazar

The ECB explained that companies that are subject to its supervision must adhere to the principles of the new framework by November 15th, 2022. Christine Lagarde described the pioneering cryptocurrency as a threat, stating it contributes to money laundering and terrorism financing, among other crimes.

The European Central Bank (ECB) recently approved a new regulatory framework to supervise payments with Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies. They stated that it seeks to make the transactions in the crypto ecosystem secure and efficient.

At a meeting of its Governing Council, the ECB authorized the Eurosystem supervisory framework for electronic payment instruments, schemes, and agreements. PISA will replace the payment supervision regulation that has been in force since 2017. Furthermore, the ECB extended it to cryptocurrency-related systems such as cryptocurrency exchanges and digital wallets.

According to a press release by the ECB, the Eurosystem will use the new framework to monitor companies allowing or supporting digital payments. They include payment cards, credit transfers, direct debits, electronic money transfers, digital payment tokens, and electronic wallets.

The new regulatory framework proposes supervising payments with Bitcoin in commercial establishments. That would be within a card payment scheme and the option of sending, receiving, or paying with crypto assets through an electronic wallet.

Fabio Panetta, a member of the Executive Board of the ECB, said the retail payments ecosystem evolves rapidly due to innovation and technological change. He added that this requires a forward-looking approach in monitoring digital payment solutions.

Companies Have One Year to Adhere to the Framework

The ECB explained that companies that are already subject to its supervision must adhere to the principles of the new framework. They have until November 15^th, 2022, when the ordinance will enter into force.

They also specified that other firms have a one-year grace period after receiving the notification that the authorities will supervise them.

They said that all supervised companies would have to submit self-assessments and supporting documentation. These would serve as the basis of a continuous dialogue between them and the supervisor.

For example, that new regulation is an additional weight for Spanish companies related to the cryptocurrency market. They now have to comply with the registration of service operators and this new ECB regulatory framework.

The ECB Is Eager to Regulate Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies

The new framework demonstrates the intentions and eagerness of the ECB to regulate Bitcoin and the entire market structure. In January, the president of the Bank, Christine Lagarde, described the pioneering cryptocurrency as a threat. She considers it contributes to money laundering, terrorism financing, and other crimes.

The ECB highlighted that the authorities should track all payments with cryptocurrencies, which violates the privacy features of that new money.

Fabio Panetta of the ECB claimed that crypto assets are dangerous animals. He noted it is hard to regulate and supervise them since there is no responsible legal entity.

In an attempt to compete with Bitcoin, they have advanced the development of the digital euro, their central bank digital currency (CBDC). Analysts believe that this asset is nothing more than digitized fiat money since States regulate them.

The bank will receive advice from 30 experts in retail trade to design and distribute the CBDC. The current officials of the ECB will instruct on how the digital euro could add value to all the agents of the payments ecosystem in the region.

By Alexander Salazar

The scammers share a fake Shiba Inu Telegram group where they impersonate official accounts, responding to general messages. The speculative frenzy towards memecoins seems to be cooling down, which is evident in the breakdown by market capitalization on exchanges.

The developers of memecoin Shiba Inu (SHIB) recently warned about scams against investors interested in SHIB tokens. The alert came through a tweet detailing the methods used to defraud unsuspecting victims from the community.

The scammers share a fake Shiba Inu Telegram group on all social networks where they impersonate official accounts and create fake users. Those criminals respond to general messages, according to a video posted on Twitter.

As Shiba Inu attracts many investors, the scammers of that market have increased their efforts. They target innocent investors on social platforms such as Twitter and Telegram. The methods they use for contacting their potential victims are the impersonation of official accounts and cryptocurrency-related hashtags. For example, they have used #shib, #shibarmy, and #shibaswap.

The posted warning highlighted that the community does not offer any promotion, bonus, or present. The developers expect investors to avoid sharing their wallet keys and following fake accounts on social media.

The success of memecoins like SHIB and DOGE has led new tokens to start flooding the cryptocurrency market. The value of SHIB reached an all-time high of USD 0.000086 on October 28^th. However, it has been struggling to maintain its price due to the current downward trend in the crypto market.

Shiba Inu Decreases Its Market capitalization, According to Coinbase

The recent speculative frenzy towards memecoins like the Shiba Inu (SHIB) token seems to be cooling down. That is evident in the breakdown by market capitalization on Coinbase.

SHIB recently accounted for 6.7% of the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies on Coinbase, falling to third place behind Bitcoin and Ethereum. The memecoin had led the volume rankings on Coinbase for two weeks.

However, SHIB is still ahead of the most popular cryptocurrencies, among which are Solana and Polkadot.

Analysts consider the increase in SHIB a sign of the frenzy towards memecoins, which often appears at the general market peaks. A sell-off across the crypto market followed the crypto meme bullish run in early May. That caused Bitcoin to drop from USD 58,000 to USD 30,000 in less than two weeks.

The current cooling of the bullish market may redirect the attention back to Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies.

SHIB is currently trading at around USD 0.0000423 and has accumulated a loss of 6.6% in the last 24 hours. Its daily trading volume is above USD 1.8 billion, and its market capitalization is about USD 22.4 billion, according to CoinGecko.

The Price of SHIB Falls by 50% in 3 Weeks

Memecoin Shiba Inu (SHIB) has lost more than 50% of its market capitalization in three weeks following its all-time highs in late October.

The price of SHIB reached a low of USD 0.00004251 on November 19^th after dropping by nearly 55% from its all-time high of USD 0.00008854. Its price recovered a small part of its losses that day, but that move was not decisive due to weak trading volumes.

Some analysts said a sharp pullback in the SHIB market was inevitable after its price had skyrocketed by more than 1,100% since October 1^st. For example, independent market analyst John Wick called the ongoing correction of SHIB a cap signal, suggesting there would be more sell-offs.

By Alexander Salazar

After an initial 15% drop at the beginning of the week, the price rebounded in recent days. Historically, retail holders have been very influential in bullish cycles.

Since last week, when it was trading at USD 65,500, the price of the pioneering cryptocurrency has fallen by 10%. A study by Glassnode reveals that long-term Bitcoin holders (LTH) have already entered a moderate profit-taking stage. That means those investors have started to sell some of their BTC, exerting a downward price pressure.

Small holders, who have less than 1 BTC, are in an intensive purchasing stage. Analyst Willy Woo recently said that this guarantees that the current correction is not the beginning of a bearish market but a consolidation.

The weekly chart shows an intensification of Bitcoin purchases by some retail holders in recent days. Besides, some long-term holders have participated in BTC sales, although they have also kept buying.

Scaramucci Recommends that Investors Buy Bitcoin Now

Anthony Scaramucci, SkyBrigde Capital founder and former White House communications director, said investors should buy Bitcoin now. He explained to the CNBC television channel that people need to acquire the cryptocurrency even above USD 60,000.

Scaramucci believes that the value of Bitcoin could reach USD 500,000 per token by mid-2025. He also explained that there would not be enough BTC for the existing 49 million millionaires that decide to buy it worldwide.

The Price of Bitcoin Could Reach USD 400,000, Says Carlos Maslatón

Financial market analyst Carlos Maslatón believes that the Bitcoin bullish momentum has not yet ended. He even said that the value of the cryptocurrency could reach USD 400,000 in the current cycle.

Maslatón explained that he uses the Elliot wave model for making his predictions about the price of Bitcoin.

The specialist considers that the current cycle of Bitcoin will close within two or three years, with several rallies and corrections culminating at USD 399,759.

Starting from the all-time high above USD 69,000, he predicted two new caps of USD 78,000 and USD 117,000, respectively, for the next few months.

Featured Bitcoin Chart of the Last Week

The SOPR (spent output profit ratio) indicator measures the profitability of the BTC that investors have sold. A chart shows the behavior of short-term holders (STH) in the last week. The calculation of the profit ratio results from dividing the current value by the realized/effective price (the last time it changed hands).

When the SOPR of short-term holders is less than 1, those investors have sold at a loss. Every time the curve stays below 1, the price reaches a low, and after it drops below 1, there is a price rise. As the SOPR of short-term holders is currently below 1, there could be a price rally soon.

Governments Could Start Accumulating Bitcoin

Renowned Bitcoin evangelist Max Keizer recently predicted that governments would inevitably compete to mine and accumulate Bitcoin. He said that countries like the United States would follow in the steps of El Salvador.

The investor stated that the Central American adopted Bitcoin as legal tender due to the sharp deterioration of fiat currencies. He believes that inflation will wreak havoc on the lives of citizens and the economies of countries worldwide.

By Alexander Salazar

According to Clinton, cryptocurrencies have the power to weaken other currencies. Hillary Clinton showed her concerns about the impact of cryptocurrencies on the world economy.

Former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said that cryptocurrencies have the power to impact countries both large and small. Due to the currency’s sudden growth, she pointed out that an asset like bitcoin could even destroy the dollar as a reserve currency of value.

The comment made its appearance in the New Economy Forum led by Bloomberg Media Group, which took place in Singapore. During her participation, Hillary Clinton expressed that governments should be more aware of the rise of cryptocurrencies, as they could crush their national currencies.

The former candidate, who belongs to the Democratic Party, said that countries with weak currencies and economies will get affected first. Even though she assured that these countries would not be the only ones, the former candidate believes that this is an issue of global concern. She believes that strong nations like the United States of America could also destabilize due to this new threat.

The fear appears, on the one hand, by the exponential increase in the adoption of cryptocurrencies. Two proofs of this growing fear are the moves that several leaders of the United States of America made to collect their salary in bitcoin, and the weakening that the dollar is experiencing after inflation, something that even worries Elon Musk.

Not Everyone Thinks the Same Way Hillary Clinton does about Bitcoin

Alex McShane, a bitcoin journalist, referred to Hillary Clinton’s statement as a threat to multinational corporations. As a connoisseur of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, the journalist highlighted that many politicians like Clinton speak of the cryptocurrency ecosystem from ignorance.

McShane denied that cryptocurrencies could undermine fiat money currencies or entire countries because they play the same role in the economy. Although the journalist recognizes that bitcoin is generating an impact on the dollar as a global reserve currency, he understands it could be a threat to collect taxes and promote devaluation.

Another person who also sees strength in bitcoin is Gael Sánchez Smith, who believes that the world will begin to think about the values of things in this cryptocurrency. The analyst stated that it is just a matter of time before people would migrate to this new asset, and it would eventually become a large part of the world’s fortune.

The economist believes that those who start to think about bitcoin and its value before others will get better prepared for the years to come. He credits this situation to the fact that cryptocurrency in just 13 years of life is already an active asset for at least 2-3% of the world’s population.

Sanchez Smith also thinks that the world will go through an evolution, and it is going to implement bitcoin as the numerator of economic and commercial activity. It predicts that it will first work as a collectible investment mode, then as a store of value, and lastly, it will be the global financial asset.

By: Jenson Nuñez