roadrunner

PRESS RELEASE. Seattle, WA, April 19, 2023 — Space and Time and Microsoft announce that developers can now deploy the Space and Time data warehouse directly from the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, an online store providing applications and services for use on Azure. The one-click deployment provides customers with an accelerated on-ramp to easily access, manage and perform analytics on blockchain-native data. As a leader in intelligent computing and AI, Microsoft is committed to supporting its customers and partners with their business needs, including Web3 scenarios and use cases. In September 2022, Microsoft’s venture capital fund, M12, led a funding round for Space and Time. The one-click deployment of Space and Time on the Azure Marketplace provides developers with a trustless intermediary to quickly and easily onboard large volumes of enterprise data to smart contracts, as well as new use cases for indexed blockchain data. “At Microsoft, we are empowering growth across emerging markets—including blockchain and distributed data. Together, Microsoft Azure and Space and Time will provide developers with the tools they need to build the next generation of blockchain use cases,” said Kathleen Mitford, CVP of Global Industry Marketing. The integration allows businesses to leverage the benefits of a decentralized data warehouse without rearchitecting their existing infrastructure, enabling enterprises to build on the blockchain without sacrificing compute power or security. The comprehensive Microsoft Azure cloud services and industry-leading identity and security capabilities provide a trusted set of services and tools to develop Web3 applications in this new era of ubiquitous computing. Space and Time, a leader in Web3 data warehousing, joins real-time data indexed from major blockchains with customer-provided off-chain datasets. The Space and Time hybrid transactional and analytic (HTAP) data warehouse comes pre-loaded with real-time indexed blockchain data, provided for free. The one-click deployment enables customers to easily integrate the Space and Time data warehouse with their existing enterprise infrastructure. Connecting blockchain data to Azure compute will generate new use cases for base-layer blockchains and developers of decentralized applications. “The need for verifiable data across blockchains, enterprises and AI has never been more important. We provide enterprises with the ability to integrate blockchain data into their applications and business processes, which is critical for both customer growth and enabling responsible data stewards,” said Space and Time CEO and Co-Founder Nate Holiday. “We’re excited to extend our partnership with Microsoft to bridge enterprise data assets with blockchain and AI innovation.” About Microsoft Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. https://www.microsoft.com/ About Space and Time Space and Time is the first Web3-native decentralized data warehouse that joins tamperproof on-chain and off-chain data to deliver enterprise use cases to smart contracts. Space and Time has developed a novel cryptography called Proof of SQL℠ that allows developers to connect analytics directly to smart contracts, opening up a wealth of powerful new use cases and business logic on blockchain technology. Space and Time is built from the ground up as a multichain data platform for developers in financial services, gaming, DeFi, or any project requiring verifiable data across enterprise, blockchain and AI. For more information, visit: Website | Twitter | Discord | Telegram | LinkedIn | YouTube For media inquiries, please contact: Spencer Reeves, marketing@spaceandtime.io This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

Dogecoin saw a five-day winning streak snapped on Wednesday, with today’s drop engulfing recent gains. The meme coin fell by as much as 6% in today’s session, as sentiment in the crypto market shifted. Solana was also lower, plunging by 9%. Dogecoin (DOGE) Dogecoin (DOGE) plunged on Wednesday, as bears entered the market, snapping a five-day win streak in the process. Following a low of $0.0853 last Friday, DOGE/USD surged to a peak of $0.0950 during yesterday’s session. These gains were wiped today, as the meme coin fell to a low of $0.0851 earlier in the day. One of the main catalysts for the drop seems to be a breakout on the relative strength index (RSI), which fell below a floor at 60.00. At the time of writing, the index is tracking at 54.98, which is marginally higher than a floor at 53.00. DOGE has since rebounded, and is currently at $0.08815, however should the RSI continue to fall, the coin could move below $0.0850. Solana (SOL) Another notable mover on Wednesday was solana (SOL), which fell by as much as 9% today. SOL/USD dropped to a bottom at $22.27 earlier in the day, which comes following Tuesday’s peak at $25.22. As a result of the decline, solana fell to its weakest point since last Tuesday, when the token traded at a low of $20.83. Like with dogecoin, today’s drop seems to have coincided with a breakout on the RSI indicator, which moved below 57.00. Price strength is currently at a reading of 53.36, and is fast approaching a lower point of support at 51.00. If this downturn continues for the remainder of the week, there is a strong possibility that SOL will move below $20.00. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: Is today’s downturn simply a matter of profit capturing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. View the full article

Tech investor Elon Musk intends to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) platform that will be “truth-seeking” and safe for mankind. Admitting he is starting late, the billionaire nevertheless vowed to try to present a “third option” that will challenge the products of giants Microsoft and Google. Elon Musk Slams Microsoft-Funded Openai, Google Founder for AI Approach Entrepreneur Elon Musk announced he plans to create his own AI that will rival the offerings of tech giants. The new platform, which he referred to as “Truthgpt,” should try to understand the universe without threatening humanity. Speaking to Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, Musk accused Openai, the developer of the Chatgpt chatbot, of “training the AI to lie.” He believes the company is now a “closed-source”, “for-profit” organization in which “Microsoft has a very strong say.” Elon Musk helped found Openai in 2015 “to serve as a counterweight to Google.” In the interview aired on Monday, the billionaire also criticized Larry Page, the co-founder of the tech giant, of not taking AI safety seriously. Musk recently joined a group of AI experts and executives who warned about potential risks to society and called for a six-month pause in the development of systems that are more powerful than Openai’s latest GPT-4 model. “AI is more dangerous than, say, mismanaged aircraft design or production maintenance or bad car production,” he told Carlson. “I’m going to start something which I call ‘Truthgpt,’ or a maximum truth-seeking AI that tries to understand the nature of the universe,” the owner of Tesla elaborated. He also said that his AI platform “might be the best path to safety” that would be “unlikely to annihilate humans,” according to excerpts quoted by Reuters. Sources familiar with the plan have told the news agency that Musk has been recruiting AI researchers from Google to launch an AI startup. While admitting the project is starting late, he insisted he “will try to create a third option,” after Openai’s Chatgpt and Google’s Bard. In March, the investor registered a company called X.AI Corp in Nevada. Do you think Elon Musk’s Truthgpt will successfully rival the tech giants’ AI offerings? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Bitcoin fell to a one-week low on Apr. 19, as markets moved into consolidation following a recent bull run. Following today’s red wave, prices neared a breakout below the $29,000 level earlier in the session. Ethereum also declined, falling below $2,000. Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) moved lower on Wednesday, as markets began to consolidate following recent gains in price. Following a high of $30,470.30 on Tuesday, BTC/USD dropped to a bottom at the $29,102.17 mark earlier in the day. The low sent bitcoin to its lowest point since April 10, which is when price was last below $29,000. Bitcoin chart by TradingView Overall, it appears that today’s sell-off took place as the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) fell below a floor at 59.00. At the time of writing, the index is tracking at 54.97, with the next visible point of support at the 55.00 mark. Should this level be hit, there is a good chance that BTC will be trading around a floor at $28,600. Ethereum In addition to BTC, Wednesday’s red wave also pushed ethereum (ETH) lower, with the price dropping below $2,000. ETH/USD hit a low of $1,967.17 earlier today, which comes less than 24 hours after it traded at a peak of $2,121.53. The move came as ethereum fell below its recent price floor at the $2,030 level, with some eyeing a lower floor at $1,830. Ethereum chart by TradingView Ultimately, ETH was relatively overbought in recent days, with the RSI hitting a reading above 75.00 to start the week. This led to bears reentering the market, which have now pushed price strength to a current reading at 55.00 A floor at 51.00 could be the target for sellers, which would almost certainly see ETH trading under $1,900. Register your email here to get weekly price analysis updates sent to your inbox: What is behind today’s red wave? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. View the full article

Bank of Russia is building a system of gateways with foreign payment networks and is now working with Turkey in this field. Russia’s monetary authority would also allow the experimental use of cryptocurrencies in foreign economic activities, its head was quoted as saying. Russia’s Central Bank ‘Actively Working’ With Turkey on New Payment Gateways The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) is developing payment gateways with foreign payment systems and is actively working with Turkey in this area, Governor Elvira Nabiullina said at a meeting with lawmakers in the State Duma, the lower house of Russian parliament. Russians visiting Turkey have been experiencing problems with payments since Visa and Mastercard suspended Russian operations as part of sanctions over the war in Ukraine. Starting from September last year, the Russian Mir cards are no longer accepted in a number of countries. During that month, Turkish banks also quit processing payments with Mir after a U.S. warning that financial institutions working with CBR’s National Card Payment System, the Mir operator, risk being involved in circumventing Russia sanctions. At the time, Turkish media reported that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had suggested establishing a new payment system between the two countries. “We have built a system of gateways between our payment systems so that we can pay. This does not work in all countries … Nevertheless, such opportunities will appear,” Nabiullina said, quoted by the Interfax news agency. Alternative options are being discussed with each country individually, the governor elaborated, including using prepaid cards or cards issued by the payment systems of the respective nations. Members of Turkey’s tourism industry proposed to launch cards that Russians can load with rubles and use during their stay in the country. Russia has been mulling over ways to bypass financial restrictions imposed by the West over its invasion of Ukraine. One of the considered options is to use digital assets, including decentralized cryptocurrencies which are yet to be comprehensively regulated in the country. During the meeting in the Duma, Nabiullina also indicated that while the regulator remains opposed to crypto payments inside the country, it is open to allowing international crypto settlements under experimental legal regimes. These will be conducted through authorized organizations, she explained, quoted by Tass, adding that the scheme can work with other digital financial assets as well. Do you think Russia, Turkey and other nations will launch alternative fiat payment gateways and use crypto in settlements? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. Recently, CoinEx Charity has kicked off its second educational welfare program in Türkiye. In the first program, all the students receiving donations have continued their studies in the new semester. Since last year, CoinEx Charity has participated in the Umudum Scholarship Program initiated by the local charity organization Kacuv in Türkiye, offering support in tuition to 50 local impoverished students. The Umudum Scholarship Program provides scholarships for students in preschools, primary schools, secondary schools, and universities in Türkiye who need financial support to continue their studies. This program aims to boost students’ learning motivation and ensure that their education is not interrupted due to financial difficulties. CoinEx Charity’s Effort to Support Education Since last May, CoinEx Charity has launched a global educational welfare program, with concrete effort in poverty alleviation and educational welfare activities in impoverished regions. After more than a year of exploration, CoinEx Charity has blazed a trail, which involves global visits, targeted assistance, and joint donations. So far, CoinEx Charity has donated over $100,000 worth of learning supplies to schools in more than 20 regions worldwide, established several charitable libraries, and donated over $100,000 to multiple educational welfare programs jointly with official charity organizations in various regions. With the support of CoinEx Charity’s educational welfare program, more than 10,000 impoverished children worldwide have returned to school and successfully completed their studies. The new school supplies and libraries have also provided them with better learning conditions, fulfilling their desire to continue their education. The journey of educational welfare has just begun, and CoinEx Charity is not alone. Every bit of its effort for educational welfare will reach other compassionate social organizations and institutions, and CoinEx Charity will partner with more charity institutions in this undertaking. Thanks from Kacuv This year, Türkiye has been hit by a severe earthquake, causing millions of children to lose their homes and schools. According to the latest report from UN News, the earthquake in this country has dealt a heavy blow to nearly four million local students, and many of them are unable to continue their studies after the disaster. Currently, CoinEx Charity’s first educational welfare program in Türkiye has come to an end, and the second has kicked off. In the second program, we have helped some of the children affected by the earthquake resume their studies. As a token of gratitude for CoinEx’s loving support, Kacuv posted a thank-you poster on Twitter, with these words: “We want to thank CoinEx Charity for its continuous support of our Umudum Scholarship Program. It has provided scholarships for 50 disadvantaged students in Türkiye to ignite their dreams for education.” On CoinEx Charity’s journey of educational welfare, we often receive thank-you letters from all over the world, including from Phuong Xa High School in Vietnam, Human Development Foundation (DHF) in Thailand, and UNICEF. These sincere thank-you letters represent recognition for CoinEx Charity’s effort in educational welfare, and encourage us to continue our commitment to this undertaking. CoinEx Charity firmly believes that children should never be deprived of the right to education by economic difficulties. However, in remote areas with limited educational resources, children face many challenges in gaining access to quality education, and some even quit school because of financial reasons. The road ahead will be long, and CoinEx Charity will do its best to provide more educational opportunities for children worldwide, while calling on more global charitable organizations to engage in this cause and jointly drive the development of education for public welfare. This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

While bitcoin’s effect on the environment has been discussed at length over the last two years, the latest trend of artificial intelligence (AI) software is now being criticized for its carbon footprint. According to several headlines and academic papers this year, AI consumes significant electricity and leverages copious amounts of water to cool data centers. Reports Insist AI and Chatgpt Consumes a Ton of Electricity and Water In recent times, environmentalists have aimed their targets at various technologies, and during the last 24 months, a great deal of focus has been directed at bitcoin mining. Now, the insatiable drive to reduce carbon footprints is aimed at the artificial intelligence (AI) trend that has taken the world by storm. There’s no doubt that AI has been extremely popular in 2023, with Openai’s Chatgpt program and others releasing innovative new software. However, several articles and scholarly papers claim that AI is consuming a massive amount of energy and has a significant carbon footprint. According to a report published by Bloomberg, “AI uses more energy than other forms of computing.” The article employs a tactic used by members of the media to make it seem like machines are taking away energy from humans. “Training a single [AI] model can gobble up more electricity than 100 U.S. homes use in an entire year,” insist Bloomberg authors Josh Saul and Dina Bass. The report further notes that while researchers have estimated a total on how much energy creating an AI model takes, there is no overall estimate for the total amount of power the technology uses. Meanwhile, an academic paper published by students from the University of Colorado Riverside and the University of Texas Arlington claims that not only does Chatgpt use a lot of electricity, but it also leverages water to cool down data centers. The paper cites that the technology giant Microsoft uses so much water to cool its United States AI facilities that it could be used for “370 BMW cars or 320 Tesla electric vehicles.” The paper further claims that training the GPT-3 model consumed 185,000 gallons of water. Mark Labbe, an author at techtarget.com, insists that “data centers and large AI models use massive amounts of energy and are harmful to the environment.” Another article from numenta.com also insists that AI is “harming” the planet, and the author claims the trend could accelerate the climate crisis if not addressed. Not everyone agrees with the studies and alarming headlines, as many believe the so-called climate crisis is a lie. For example, a report published by the Gatestone Institute claims that climate alarmism is harmful to the West. “Future generations will judge us harshly for allowing extremist environmental activism to enfeeble us in the West,” explains Drieu Godefridi, the author at the Gatestone Institute. Meteorologist John Shewchuk insists that climate alarmism is a scam. “Climate scam alarmism is no substitute for data,” Shewchuk tweeted on April 16. “Our primate ancestors evolved when temperatures were about 20 degrees F warmer than today—and there were no polar ice caps. The earth is now relatively very cold—and getting climatologically colder.” From Bitcoin, to AI and Then to Rice Farming — Climate Activists Insist the Science Is Settled Additionally, climate alarmists are not just going after bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence. A recent report from Agence France-Presse (AFP) is being criticized for blaming rice farming for significant CO2 emissions. “Scientists say that if the world wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, rice cannot be ignored,” AFP’s report says. AFP’s tweet on Sunday was criticized by several individuals for reporting that rice farming causes CO2 emissions. “What can’t be ignored is the FACT that rice is literally the top food source for billions of people,” one person replied to the AFP Twitter account. “Eliminating rice would kill millions by starvation… and some people like you [AFP] are good with that.” The United States representative for Kentucky’s 4th congressional district, Thomas Massie, also criticized AFP’s video tweet. “The fact that climate wokes are going after rice shows you how illogical they are,” Massie said. “Mature forests release large amounts of methane. Ponds and lakes release methane. Decomposing organic matter in the absence of oxygen (or in the guts of herbivores and termites) releases methane,” he added. The truth is that people now think that subjective valuations and arbitrary opinions of what is good for the planet and what is not should be investigated and regulated. While bitcoin provides economic freedom as a censorship-resistant currency, some argue that it must also address climate change concerns. Just like bitcoin, the environmental impact of artificial intelligence and rice farming has also come under scrutiny. While many follow the rules and regulations set by climate change experts and bureaucrats, others hold contrarian views and argue that the science is not settled. What are your thoughts on the environmental impact of AI models and how it compares to the criticism against bitcoin mining? Share your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Russia is in the process of negotiating a free trade deal with India in order to substitute part of the products and investments that were banned by sanctions enacted after the Ukrainian conflict erupted. Russia is now the largest oil supplier of India, with the country taking advantage of the discounted Russian crude. Russia and India Negotiate New Trade Agreement Russia and India are negotiating a new Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to increase the trading integration between the two countries, which has thrived after the establishment of Western sanctions on Russia. According to Reuters, India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar stated that the deal was in a stage of “advanced agreement,” and that this might secure bilateral investments between the two countries. Russia, which is now India’s biggest energy supplier, would be seeking to substitute throttled import products with those from India. On this, Russia’s Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov stated: We need to find a niche in the products which India can replace. In civilian projects, we need as wide cooperation as it was before the sanctions. In November, there were reports stating that Russia was seeking to acquire parts for cars, aircraft, and trains from India and other countries, to substitute for sanctioned, affected imports. India-Russia Relationship Thrives The cooperation between the two countries has not been affected by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, because India has not condemned Putin’s actions, maintaining public neutrality on the issue. This has allowed the country to take advantage of the discounted crude, sold at a discount due to the recent adoption of the Dubai benchmark, shunning the Europe-centric Brent benchmark. On the other hand, India is trying to bring equilibrium to the trade balance. In December, the government of India sent a list of products that would be competitive in Russian markets, to gain permission to export them to the country. The completion of an FTA between the two countries would simplify the introduction of foreign products in both markets, depending on the final determination of such an agreement. Russia is also finalizing another bilateral trade agreement with Iran, a country that has also been facing a wide package of U.S.-based sanctions, to increase their integration and trade levels without being limited by foreign determinations. The dangers of overusing the U.S. dollar as a weapon for establishing sanctions was recently acknowledged by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who stated that countries facing these sanctions would be determined to find alternatives. What do you think about the new trade agreement that Russia and India are currently negotiating? Tell us in the comment section below. View the full article

TBD and the Africa-focused cryptocurrency exchange platform Yellow Card recently partnered to launch a fiat on and off-ramp that enables payments in some 16 African countries through Bitcoin rails. The objective of this arrangement is to make cross-border payments not only more affordable and accessible, but compliant as well. Hedging Against Inflation With BTC TBD, a bitcoin developer-focused entity owned by Jack Dorsey’s Block, has joined hands with the crypto exchange platform Yellow Card to launch a platform that enables fiat on and off-ramps and payments in 16 African countries. According to a press release, the objective of this new development is to make cross-border payments more affordable and accessible, as well as to create compliant channels for remittances. As per the April 12 press release, the Africa-focused crypto platform Yellow Card will be one of TBD’s first partners to make it possible for users to send U.S. dollars or BTC and for recipients to get the local currency equivalent. For recipients living in countries with hyperinflation, the platform can be used as a place to store BTC or stablecoins. Commenting on his company’s partnership with TBD, Chris Maurice, the co-founder and CEO of Yellow Card, said: We’re thrilled to work with TBD and the Block team on tbDEX and their global payments initiatives. The international payments space, especially in Africa, is in dire need of the innovative solutions we are building together, and this is the culmination of the vision behind Block’s initial investment in Yellow Card in 2021. Emily Chiu, the co-founder and COO of TBD, spoke of her organization’s mission of advancing Block’s empowerment via “breaking down the barriers to financial access across the Global South.” Chiu added that Yellow Card’s focus on Africa makes it the ideal partner to help TBD achieve its objectives. Register your email here to get a weekly update on African news sent to your inbox: What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

The ETHGlobal Tokyo hackathon drew to a close on Sunday, as builders from around the world competed for $375,000 in prizes. The event was kicked off with the first-ever ETHGlobal “Pragma” summit, sponsored by Verse, among others. Engineers and representatives from Bitcoin.com also took part in the summit and hackathon, and shared their thoughts on the event and its significance for crypto and economic freedom right now, and in the near future. A Pragmatic Start: From Summit to Hackathon The first-ever “Pragma” summit took place on April 13 in Tokyo, Japan, as the kick-off to the wider ETHGlobal Tokyo hackathon, sponsored in part by Verse. Speakers such as Aya Miyaguchi from the Ethereum Foundation and author Balaji Srinivasan spoke at the event. The hackathon ended Sunday and saw participation from Bitcoin.com’s engineers and representatives. Director of engineering at Bitcoin.com, Andrei Terentiev, who oversees the company’s 30+ strong engineering team, noted he was “super excited for the ETH global hackathon, especially since Japan has been closed down to outside visitors for the past three years or so, it’s a great chance to meet more of the global cryptocurrency community and share new ideas that will push forward the cryptocurrency ecosystem as a whole.” Terentiev continued: Overall I think most participants in the event are all striving towards the same mission of cryptocurrency which is to create more economic freedom for the world. So being able to meet up in person helps spread those ideas and flourish across the world. Data engineer at Bitcoin.com, Bolun Zhang, said of the event: “Being a tech guy, I’m always interested in keeping up with the latest trends in the industry and exploring cool projects being undertaken by my peers.” $375,000 in prizes were available from myriad industry players and platforms like 1inch Network, Gnosis Chain, Metamask, and more. Web3, Reverse Lotteries, and Prediction Markets “At the event, we’ll be building what we’re calling a decentralized lottery,” growth marketing specialist at Bitcoin.com Alun Stern told Bitcoin.com News just prior to the hackathon. The first part of the application is “kind of like a reverse lottery … in a traditional lottery, one person wins, and everyone else loses. In this system, everyone will win, and one person will lose. The loser’s funds will get distributed across the winning participants.” Stern explained that the team would be designing the lottery in such a way that the loser would get a rare NFT. The second part of the app works similarly to prediction markets, he said, noting: Somebody will be able to propose an event, they will assign an arbiter, and they will assign multiple choice options … The interesting thing about this is not only are these prediction markets used for people to bet on future outcomes — they can also be used to influence the future and basically change the future. Stern explained that someone willing to pay enough money could bet that an influencer on social media would not promote a project, incentivizing said influencer to do just that. Ahead of the event, a software engineer on the web team at Bitcoin.com, Julie, emphasized that the hackathon would provide many benefits, including getting people more familiar with the burgeoning world of Web3. She commented: [The hackathon] will give us an opportunity to share ideas and work with different people on interesting new products that can help users to onboard into the crypto world, as well as help developers hone their skills and dive into Web3 if they didn’t have any experience with it before. It will be great to see what everyone comes up with! The Bitcoin.com team wrapped up the event with an implementation prize from Scroll, a “zkEVM-based zkRollup on Ethereum that enables native compatibility for existing Ethereum applications and tools.” What are your thoughts on the ETHGlobal Tokyo hackathon? Have you ever participated in a hackathon before? Be sure to let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Countries from the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region face a “big funding squeeze” which is forcing some of them to cut spending on health, education, and infrastructure. According to Abebe Aemro Selassie, people from the region are already “feeling the effects of the funding crisis.” The IMF says countries from the SSA region should also consider having in place “a well-functioning debt-resolution framework.” Region Faced With Increased Borrowing Costs and Reduced ‘Access to Cheaper Funding’ According to the International Monetary Fund, the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region faces a “big funding squeeze” which is being spurred by “shrinking aid budgets and reduced inflows from partners.” Without this funding, countries from the region will be forced to cut spending on health, education, and infrastructure, thus “holding the region back from developing its true potential,” a statement released by the global lender has said. Remarking on the region’s declining share of funding, Abebe Aemro Selassie, the lender’s director of the African department, claimed that people from SSA regions are already starting to feel the effects of this crisis. “People in sub-Saharan Africa are feeling the effects of a funding crisis. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, [the] cost of living is more expensive, borrowing costs have increased and access to cheaper funding is dwindling. Coupled with a long-term decline in aid and a more recent fall in investment from partners, this means that there is less money to be spent on vital services like health, education, and infrastructure,” Selassie argues. Selassie also warned that unless measures are taken to mitigate these risks, the region’s goal of becoming the “driving force of the global economy in years to come” will be hampered. IMF: SSA Region Countries Should Consider Allowing Their Currencies to Depreciate Meanwhile, in its April 14 press release, the IMF said has already played its part after it provided more than $50 billion to countries within SSA between the years 2020 and 2022. The lender also revealed that it had “lending arrangements with 21 countries” while more requests for such programs are said to be under consideration. Besides waiting for a financial bailout, the IMF said countries from the SSA region should also consider having in place “a well-functioning debt-resolution framework.” Countries should also consider allowing their respective exchange rates to depreciate. “[A final priority] is ensuring that important efforts to tackle climate change do not crowd out basic needs, like health and education. Climate finance provided by the international community must come on top of current aid flows,” the IMF added. Register your email here to get a weekly update on African news sent to your inbox: What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

The police service of the Canadian city of Calgary is launching a Cryptocurrency Investigations Centre in partnership with blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis to help combat crypto crime. The center “will enable law enforcement to tackle crime that takes place using blockchain technology,” Chainalysis described. Canada’s Cryptocurrency Investigations Centre The police service of Calgary, the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area within the three Prairie Provinces region, announced last week that it is creating a “Cryptocurrency Investigations Centre.” The announcement explains: The Calgary Police Service is entering into a unique partnership with Chainalysis, a global blockchain data platform, to help combat crypto-crime. “The creation and implementation of the Western Canada Cryptocurrency Investigations Centre will strengthen our ability to ensure the public safety of citizens, allow for proactive policing, enhance technical investigative skills and provide expert training resources for law enforcement,” the police noted. According to the announcement, Calgarians reported losses totaling $13.9 million due to cryptocurrency-related crimes to the police last year, and an additional $3.2 million has been reported so far this year. “Cybercrimes, particularly cryptocurrency scams, can be difficult for law enforcement to fully investigate due to a variety of complex factors, including various international locations and jurisdictions, sophisticated criminal techniques and quickly advancing technology,” the police stressed. Furthermore, the announcement details: Together, with Chainalysis, the Calgary Police Service Cyber Forensics Unit has created the CPS Blockchain Investigation Team (BIT), dedicated to support cryptocurrency and blockchain-related investigations. Chainalysis described the new center as “an innovative regional center that will enable law enforcement to tackle crime that takes place using blockchain technology.” The blockchain firm’s research indicates that there has been a significant surge in the usage and adoption of cryptocurrencies and digital assets in Canada since 2019. In 2022, Canada ranked 22nd on the firm’s Global Crypto Adoption Index, which is an improvement from 26th in 2021 and 24th in 2020. What do you think about this crypto center set up by the Canadian police service and Chainalysis? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Hester Peirce, a commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has issued her opinion on the recent attempts of the institution to change the definition of “exchange” under the Exchange Act Rule. According to Peirce, the institution is now expanding its reach to solve “problems that do not exist,” stifling innovation in the process. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce Issues Dissenting Opinion U.S. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, also known in cryptocurrency circles as “crypto mom,” has written a letter blasting the recent decision of the Commission to amend the definition of “exchange” under the Exchange Act Rule. Peirce states that instead of bolstering innovation, this decision will render it “kaput,” bringing even more confusion to cryptocurrency circles in the U.S. Peirce argued that, compared with the 90’s SEC that acted in a different way, today’s SEC uses the rulemaking process as a threat. She commented: Today’s Commission tells entrepreneurs trying to do new things in our markets to come in and register. When entrepreneurs find they cannot, the Commission dismisses the possibility of making practical adjustments to our registration framework to help entrepreneurs register, and instead rewards their good faith with an enforcement action. Two U.S.-based crypto exchanges — Kraken, which already settled a case with the institution, and Coinbase, which has received a Wells notice — have complained about this course of action on the part of the SEC. Peirce also addressed the lack of details when it comes to the applicability of these new standards to defi structures, commenting that the norm does not even consider if compliance for these platforms would be possible. SEC’s Decision The cause of this dissent lies in the introduction of supplemental information to the definition of “exchange” in the Exchange Act Rule, directed to clarify which cryptocurrency structures fall under the umbrella of the agency. While the amendment targets defi platforms and how can they be regulated under this new proposal, SEC Chair Gary Gensler clarified that many of these platforms are already covered by existing rules. He stated: Make no mistake: many crypto trading platforms already come under the current definition of an exchange and thus have an existing duty to comply with the securities laws. Investors in the crypto markets must receive the same time-tested protections that the securities laws provide in all other markets. Commenters will have a period of 30 days to issue their ideas and doubts to the institution, which will be discussed and potentially applied to the amendment. What do you think about Hester Peirce’s stance on the amendment of the “exchange” definition? Tell us in the comments section below View the full article

This year, there has been a flurry of news reports and opinion editorials discussing an alleged de-dollarization trend amid a wave of disclosures associated with the BRICS bloc. In a recent article, the American political scientist and author Ian Bremmer insisted that claims of the U.S. dollar dying are overblown. In addition to Bremmer’s comments, economist Paul Krugman also asserted in a recent op-ed that the greenback isn’t going away anytime soon and called some of the speculators “‘Weimarists,’ people who are always predicting hyperinflation.” Political Scientist Ian Bremmer Insists Dollar Death Speculation Is Greatly Exaggerated The subject of de-dollarization has been a topical discussion in 2023, as several market observers suspect the United States dollar could collapse in the near future. Many conversations and debates revolve around the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and the alliances these countries have made. Several decisions have been made with help from members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to ditch the dollar in gas and oil settlements. Moreover, worldwide Google Trends data shows that the term “de-dollarization” reached the highest score of 100 in terms of search interest during the week of April 2 to April 8, 2023. Google Trends data indicates that the subject began gaining momentum during the last week of March 2023. Prior to that, interest rose during the end of January 2023, but not nearly as high as the week of April 2-8 recorded by Google Trends’ 12-month metrics. Although interest has risen, the internet has been flooded with stories discussing the U.S. dollar’s theoretical doom and its removal from the throne of the world’s dominant reserve currency. Amid these stories, Ian Bremmer, the founder of Eurasia Group and an author known for his knowledge of global political risk, has offered a different perspective on the alleged collapse of dollar dominance. Bremmer acknowledges the trend of de-dollarization headlines by highlighting eight different articles. The author says that these stories have “provided a fertile ground for gold bugs, crypto shills, hyperinflation truthers, techno-libertarians, anti-imperialists, and run-of-the-mill grifters to stoke fear about the dollar’s imminent death and its supposed catastrophic consequences for the United States and the global economy.” Bremmer shows USD usage data from the Federal Reserve and insists that “rumors of the dollar’s death are greatly exaggerated.” He also asserts that, by most measures, the greenback “remains incontrovertibly dominant in global trade and finance.” The Eurasia Group founder stresses that the U.S. dollar possesses several “desirable features,” such as offering stability while also being “liquid, safe, and convertible.” However, Bremmer concedes that the greenback’s dominance could slip someday, as other dominant currencies have in the past. The author states: None of this means that the dollar’s advantage can’t slip, of course. After all, every reserve currency that came before the dollar was dominant until the very moment it ceased to be. Economist Paul Krugman Claims U.S. Dollar’s Role ‘Looks Pretty Secure’ The Eurasia Group founder is not the only one who feels that the dollar isn’t going to lose dominance anytime soon. Economist Paul Krugman also published an op-ed about the de-dollarization subject in The New York Times. Krugman takes aim at gold bug Peter Schiff and “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” author Robert Kiyosaki. The op-ed says that some of these individuals are “Weimarists,” insisting that they have been predicting Weimar Republic-like inflation in the United States. Krugman insists that the U.S. dollar’s dominance is not really at risk, and the “dollar’s role looks pretty secure.” “The dollar has three big advantages,” the Nobel laureate said. “One is incumbency: Since everyone is already using dollars, it would take exceptional circumstances to get them to switch. A second is that U.S. financial markets are open: Unlike China, we don’t impose controls on people trying to move money into or out of the country. The third is the rule of law,” Krugman added. Concluding his “subscriber-only newsletter,” Krugman says there’s “one major caveat.” He believes there’s a possibility that the U.S. could default on debt because the Republican-controlled House refuses to raise the debt ceiling. In terms of the political spectrum, Krugman is a left-leaning Democrat and is rated “most liberal” by allsides.com. “Who will trust the currency of a nation that appears to have politically lost its mind?” Krugman asks in his NYT op-ed. “If that happens, the threat to the dollar’s reserve-currency status will be the least of our problems.” What do you think the future holds for the U.S. dollar as the world’s dominant reserve currency, and how might the trend of de-dollarization impact the global economy? Share your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Since January 2023, the number of tether stablecoins in circulation has grown from 66 billion to the current 80.9 billion, representing growth of more than 22% this year. Tether’s growth is approaching the high of $83 billion in stablecoins in circulation that the project saw almost a year ago, in May 2022. Tether Supply Is Nearing Its All-Time High The stablecoin market has recently contracted and is currently hovering around $131.94 billion. The decrease in the stablecoin market can be attributed to several dollar-pegged coins that have reduced their token supplies. In the last month, usd coin (USDC) has decreased its supply by 12.6%, while binance usd (BUSD) has seen an 18.9% reduction in supply. Additionally, Makerdao’s DAI has experienced a 9.8% decrease in supply, and Tron’s USDD supply has decreased by 1.3% in the past month. Tether (USDT), on the other hand, has increased its supply by more than 22% this year, rising from 66 billion tethers in January to the current 80.93 billion. Roughly 6.3% of USDT’s growth was recorded during the past 30 days alone, according to statistics. Tether’s market capitalization is the third-largest in the cryptocurrency economy, accounting for 6.213% of the $1.2 trillion in value. Moreover, tether accounts for $29 billion of the current $52.2 billion in 24-hour global trades as of Monday, April 17, 2023. With a 24-hour trade volume of around $29 billion, tether trades account for 55.56% of every trade settled during the last day in the crypto economy. Tether’s market capitalization was around $80 billion on April 17 after briefly reaching $81 billion. The last time Tether’s market valuation was this high was in May 2022, when USDT’s market valuation exceeded $83 billion. The lowest drop in valuation after that point in time was $65 billion in November 2022. According to data from coincarp.com, the ERC20 version of tether built on top of Ethereum has 4,266,498 unique holders, and 37.3% of it is controlled by the top 100 wallets. The tether minted on Arbitrum has 276,383 unique holders, and 10 wallets hold 49.15%. The tether minted on Solana, however, is a different story, with 480,388 holders, and the top ten wallets only hold 2.16%. Tether is also issued on several other blockchains including Polygon, Tron, and others, but the majority is stored on the Ethereum chain. What do you think the future holds for tether and stablecoins in general, given the recent market contraction? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. View the full article

PRESS RELEASE. SAITECH Limited (SAI for short), a clean energy and computing operator based in Singapore, saw a surge in its stock price last Friday. The highest increase in SAI’s stock price on that day was $7.4, a 387% rise from the previous day’s price. The closing price of the stock was $4.9, still up 222.3% from the previous day. Based on the closing price, the company’s market value was $111 million. The turnover rate and trading volume of SAI on that day were both very high, which showed enthusiasm among investors about SAI. Arthur Lee, CEO of SAI, stated on Twitter, “Actually, BTC mining always leads the development of HPC, just like AI computing, who uses the best chips and faces cooling challenges. That’s why $SAI developed a liquid cooling and heat reuse system designed for all kinds of chips in the future, to make computing sustainable and ESG-friendly.” SAI is a global computing operator and clean energy technology company that horizontally integrates the computing, thermal, and power industries. SAI adopts exclusive liquid cooling and waste heat recovery technology to provide potential customers with clean thermal energy services while reducing the operating costs of digital asset computing infrastructure. In the future, SAI will focus on providing a comprehensive solution for clean energy creation from software to hardware for the computing industry to capture and reuse the heat generated by Bitcoin mining. These clean energy solutions will include everything from computing chips to HPC high-performance computers and data center infrastructure construction to the design and implementation of data center liquid cooling and waste heat utilization schemes to provide heating for various settings. SAI believes that data center heating will be an important transformation of future urban energy systems toward green and sustainable clean energy development. Currently, SAI’s high-performance computing mining machines have been successful in providing heat in multiple pilot projects, which include agricultural greenhouses, shopping malls, and office buildings, and SAI established the first computing power center in Ohio, USA, last year for vegetable and fruit planting. In May 2022, SAI completed a merger with SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) TradeUP Global Corporation (TUGCU) and began trading on the NASDAQ in the United States. SAI became the first chip heating stock. Arthur Lee once said in an interview with the media that SAI strives to become the “Tesla” of clean computing and help reduce carbon emissions in society. He hopes that SAI can bring disruptive changes to the Bitcoin mining industry, especially regarding clean computing and energy waste caused by Bitcoin mining, just like Tesla in the automotive industry, and make the industry’s underlying infrastructure move towards a cleaner and more efficient direction. In March 2022, SAI launched its first SAITIME annual corporate conference, streamed live online, introducing the company’s core philosophy and organizational structure to the public. At the conference, SAI proposed the integration plan SAIHUB, which is positioned to promote the green and efficient transformation of the computing industry, as well as its first-generation waste heat recovery computing equipment and software. In August of the same year, SAI held its first-ever Bitcoin Heat Day in New York, and Arthur Lee delivered a keynote speech on Bitcoin thermal energy. The content mainly included the huge potential the Bitcoin heating market can have on clean energy production and also application scenarios he envisioned, such as agricultural greenhouses from the perspective of global thermal energy demand and energy structure. Lee also explained how SAI.TECH’s SAIHUB products provide energy-saving solutions for Bitcoin mining and heating, as well as successful heating scenario demonstration projects (agricultural greenhouses, commercial buildings, etc.). In the same month, SAI announced its first energy-efficient computing center project in North America – SAI NODE OHIO, which successfully landed in Chesterland, Ohio, USA. It will serve as a heating demonstration site to showcase SAIHUB’s large-scale, clean energy heating capabilities to the public. At the same time, the site will become SAI.TECH’s operational headquarters in North America. In September 2022, Arthur Lee gave an interview with NASDAQ, during which he told his story. He studied energy and environmental systems engineering at Zhejiang University. Lee believes that many industries, including the computing industry, have a high demand for energy. He firmly believes that solving heat dissipation for chips and using chips to solve heating problems is the direction that truly adds value. After Lee accidentally got involved in the Bitcoin industry, he made up his mind to drop out of school and devote himself to the development of heat utilization in computing power, especially related to mining Bitcoin. It took him three years to lead SAI.TECH to successfully list on NASDAQ. In April 2023, at the SAI annual conference, SAITIME 2023 will be held in an online live-streaming event. SAI will announce its newly upgraded product line, major project progress, and future strategic development plans. SAI has always insisted on research and innovation in the computing industry and has made significant contributions to leading innovation and development in industries including clean energy, BTC, AI, and HPC. This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

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This means that it is not registered with the UK Gambling Commission’s self-exclusion scheme and allows players who have self-excluded themselves from UKGC-licensed sites to access its games and features. This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to the promoted company or any of its affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in the press release. View the full article

Social trading company Etoro has partnered with Twitter to will allow users of the microblogging platform to invest in cryptocurrencies and other assets. The move is viewed as a step towards turning the social media into a “super app,” a mission under Musk, providing financial and a range of other services. Musk’s Twitter Cashtags to Cover Crypto Assets Israel-headquartered investment firm Etoro took to Twitter on Thursday to announce its new deal with the social media platform that will offer market charts on various assets and give you the option to buy and sell stocks and cryptocurrencies. Very excited to be launching a new $Cashtags partnership with @Twitter which will enable Twitter users to see real-time prices for a much wider range of stocks, crypto & other assets as well as having the option to invest through eToro. @elonmusk https://t.co/Iv2q9iNxbf — eToro (@eToro) April 13, 2023 Twitter’s ‘$Cashtags’ feature, which was launched December 2022, already provides real-time data on some index funds and shares. Thanks to the new partnership, however, users will have information about an expanded range of financial instruments, Etoro told CNBC. To access the data, they need to search for a ticker symbol and insert the dollar sign in front of it, prompting the app to display price information from Tradingview, which is the market data provider. A newly added ‘view on Etoro’ button allows them to trade the assets through its website. Twitter was bought by entrepreneur Elon Musk in October, 2022, for $44 billion. Since the acquisition, the new owner and chief executive embarked on a series of reorganizations that included laying off several thousand employees and rolling out a subscription-based plan for verified users. The deal with Etoro represents a business development that’s worth noting in the latest chapter of Twitter’s history. Some of Musk’s moves, including changes in content moderation standards, spooked advertisers. This week, the investor insisted that “almost all” of them have returned. “We are very excited about the intersection of finance and social media,” Etoro CEO Yoni Assia said in interview with CNBC. “We believe this partnership will enable us to reach those new audiences [and] connect better the brands of Twitter and Etoro,” added the head of the online brokerage. Established in Tel Aviv, in 2007, Etoro now has 32 million registered users across Europe, Asia and the United States, Assia pointed out. Among its most popular features is a function that allows investors to copy the trading strategies of other users. One of Elon Musk’s objectives has been to turn Twitter into a “super app,” offering a wide range of services, from instant messaging to banking, the report noted. Last month he told a Morgan Stanley conference that he wants Twitter to become “the biggest financial institution in the world.” Do you expect Twitter to further expand the range of supported financial and other services, including such related to cryptocurrencies? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Analysts have begun considering using a future BRICS currency to sidestep U.S. sanctions and the dollar’s influence in international markets. While the rise of the U.S. dollar was significant to spur an era of economic growth after World War II, the so-called weaponization of its ubiquitous use has made some countries consider other options for international trade. BRICS Common Currency Issuance Under Scrutiny Zhou Weidi, deputy director of the Institute of Economics and Business Administration Central China Pedagogical University, has weighed in on the possible implementation of a BRICS currency in fighting unilateral sanctions and the hegemony of the U.S. dollar in international markets. According to Zhou, the weaponization of the U.S. dollar has created distrust even in American circles about the future of the currency, causing countries to consider alternatives to its use. While using the U.S. dollar presented several benefits after World War II, “later, as the world developed, including the continuous development of BRICS countries, the benefit of using the dollar in international settlement started to diminish,” he stated. However, Zhou notes that the introduction of a BRICS currency bloc, integrated by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, will not substitute the U.S. dollar immediately, and that the creation of such a currency be years in the making. He concluded: This does not mean that the dollar will suddenly collapse, but we need to address the issue of de-dollarization. “If, for example, such a regional currency appears by the middle of this century, I think it will stimulate the development of both those countries and the whole world,” Zhou added. While the BRICS currency project is still in its initial stages, Russia, one of the biggest economies of the BRICS bloc, has moved to use the Chinese yuan for bilateral settlements to avoid U.S. sanctions. On this, Qiang Xiaoyun, the director of the Center of Russian-Central Asian Studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies stated: Using the yuan or the ruble in payments is the most promising way to move away from the Western payment system. Issuance Still in Consideration The project of issuing a common currency for transactions among the countries of the BRICS bloc began to be considered last year, when Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the initiative was under consideration at the China-held BRICS summit, with the objective of targeting U.S. hegemony. More recently, State Duma Deputy Chairman Alexander Babakov, stated that the issuance of such a currency would be debated during the next BRICS summit, which will be held in Durban, South Africa in August, alongside the inclusion of new countries to the bloc. What do you think about the usage of a BRICS common currency as an alternative to the U.S. dollar? Tell us in the comment section below. View the full article

The winner of the Canadian lottery, Scott Gurney, has confirmed that scammers impersonating him on Facebook have conned unsuspecting victims of their bitcoins. To counter the scammers, Gurney said he has stopped accepting or sending friend requests on the social networking platform. ‘Too Good to Be True’ The Canadian Lotto Max jackpot winner, Scott Gurney, has said individuals using his name have been asking social media users to donate bitcoins are likely scammers, a report has said. Gurney, who won $55 million, confirmed that one individual told him they lost $300 worth of bitcoins to a con artist who impersonated the lottery winner. To lure victims, the con artists reportedly use fake Facebook accounts wherein Gurney is shown holding the lottery cheque. According to a report in the Times Colonist, one person lost bitcoin worth $450 after contacting one of the fake accounts. However, in his message to persons responding to the scammers’ promises, Gurney said they should be wary of offers that are too good to be true. He added: I’m sorry that people have maybe been down on their luck and are looking for those avenues, but I don’t know many people who just hand out cash easily. The report also revealed that some of the fake Facebook accounts had gone as far as to discredit other accounts. However, to counter the tactics of scammers, Gurney, a financial adviser, said he is going to stop accepting or sending friend requests on Facebook. Meanwhile, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, which handed out the $55 million check to Gurney, has issued a statement warning punters to be wary of solicited messages that ask them to divulge private information. “Anyone who gets any type of unsolicited message should be cautious and not reveal any personal information or make any monetary payment,” the Canadian Crown Corporation warned. The lottery company also urged recipients to report such unsolicited messages to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

A report from the research department of the Bank of Russia shows that, due to the structure of foreign trade contracts, it will be difficult to ditch the usage of the U.S. dollar to settle payments. The analysts found that contracts are often denominated in U.S. dollars and that most transactions are still concluded with providers from unfriendly countries. Bank of Russia Analysts Find Ditching U.S. Dollar Might Prove Difficult Analysts from the Bank of Russia have found that ditching the U.S. dollar for foreign trade settlements will not be simple due the structure of trading contracts. The analysis comes from a report titled: “Review of the Russian Financial Sector and Financial Instruments,” issued by the Bank of Russia on April 11, which examines the risks that the country still might face due to U.S. sanctions. The report states that “it will hardly be possible to abandon the use of U.S. dollars or euro without import contracts being shifted to payments in rubles or friendly countries’ currencies.” The reason behind this is said to lie in how import contract prices are formulated in U.S. dollars and euros and how most providers still prefer to receive payments in currencies of friendly countries. This means that Russia will still be subject to the availability of the currencies of non-friendly countries (in relation to Russia), like the U.S. dollar, through forex markets. This determines that the country will have to also rely on conversions of rubles to yuan to purchase dollars through Chinese banks, which can also be affected by secondary sanctions. U.S. Dollar and Euro Still Preferable Due to how international trading works, the report recognizes that even exporters from countries friendly to Russia prefer to be paid in U.S. dollars and euros, increasing the demand for these currencies. However, the report believes that the push for import substitution actions could lead to lower demand for unfriendly foreign currency in the mid-to long-term. This vision is consistent with the prediction of several economists on the currency issue. Nouriel Roubini, an economist known as “Dr. Doom,” has predicted that the global economy will shift into a “bipolar” reserve currency system, featuring the Chinese yuan as an alternative to the U.S. dollar. Russia has been seeking alternatives to its current trading woes, partnering with China to rely on the Chinese yuan to settle part of its payments in Chinese currency. In the same way, President Vladimir Putin has declared he will support the usage of the Chinese yuan to settle transactions with countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. What do you think about the usage of the U.S. dollar in international markets? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Further rate hikes are warranted by persisting inflation in the eurozone, according to members of its monetary authority’s decision-making body. Two central bank governors, with different opinions about how aggressive the European Central Bank should be, nevertheless agree that more increases of key interest rates are yet to come. ECB Has Some Hikes Left to Make, Bank of France Chief Admits Although the European Central Bank (ECB) has done most of the work in terms of interest rate hikes, it still has a “little way to go,” Banque de France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Wednesday, quoted by Reuters. It’s not the first time Villeroy has prepared the public for what’s to come. After the fastest ever rate raising during the past year, the ECB is now considering whether to slow down the increases. The next decision is expected in early May, when policymakers will determine how much higher than 3% the deposit rate needs to be to bring inflation down to the 2% target. “We may possibly still have a little way to go on rate hikes at our next meetings, though I think it’s premature to decide now what we will do in May,” Villeroy said in a speech in Washington. He made a similar statement in an interview at the end of March. The head of the French central bank, who is a member of ECB’s Governing Council, believes most of the rate hiking has been done already and argues that the biggest impact will come from previous rate increases. The tightening can stop once inflation starts turning around, he insisted, elaborating: A turnaround in the trajectory of underlying inflation – be it actual or expected with sufficient certainty – should be a trigger for stabilizing our rates. Inflation Outlook Warrants 50 Bps Increase, Austria’s Hawkish Central Bank Governor Says Since July, 2022, the ECB has raised interest rates by 350 basis points (bps) including three back-to-back 50 bps increases, but it has not provided any clear indication yet about the potential outcome of its upcoming meeting on May 4, Reuters noted in a separate report. Oesterreichische Nationalbank Governor Robert Holzmann, who also sits on the ECB’s 26-member Governing Council, told the German press that the eurozone’s monetary authority needs to keep raising interest rates. In an interview with the Boersen Zeitung newspaper, he insisted: The persistence of inflation currently argues for another 50 basis points. “There is a great deal of common understanding in the ECB Governing Council that we have not yet reached the end,” Holzmann revealed. “We must continue to act decisively and continue to raise key interest rates noticeably even beyond May,” added Austria’s chief banker who is considered a hawk among the Council’s members. Expectations for further rate increases were recently highlighted by two other members of the Council — the Governor of the Croatian National Bank, Boris Vujčić, and his colleague at the helm of Bank of Slovenia, Boštjan Vasle. Core inflation is clearly on an upward trend, Vasle was quoted as saying while Vujčić acknowledged that more hikes may follow. By how much do you expect the ECB to raise interest rates in May? Share your forecasts in the comments section below. View the full article

An investment banker formerly employed by Deutsche Bank has been charged with perpetrating a crypto-related fraud. The man from Brooklyn has been accused of misappropriating funds from victims whom he promised large returns on cryptocurrency investments in a Ponzi-like scheme. Ex-Deutsche Bank Investment Banker Arrested and Charged for Defrauding Crypto Investors Rashawn Russell, a 27-year-old investment banker and registered broker from Brooklyn, New York, was arrested on April 10 on criminal charges related to his alleged role in running a crypto investment fraud scheme, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Tuesday. Prosecutors claim that Russel defrauded multiple investors, luring them with promises of big and even guaranteed returns from cryptocurrency investment and trading. However, he used their money for his own benefit, to gamble and to repay other investors in order to keep the scheme going. The indictment alleges that the accused repeatedly failed to provide investors with the promised rates of return. And when some of them requested to be repaid their investments, he falsely represented that he had wired them the money. While the document only mentions he worked as an investment banker between July 2018 and November 2021, Reuters reported that Russel became investment banking analyst at Deutsche Bank in July 2018 and was promoted to associate in July 2020. Declining to comment specifically on an ongoing legal case, the bank stated through a spokesperson that it “regularly supports law enforcement and regulatory oversight efforts, including appropriately responding to and cooperating with authorized investigations and proceedings.” Russell solicited investments from friends, former classmates and colleagues, whom he convinced he had developed a successful strategy for altcoin trading, Bloomberg detailed in a report. He is charged with one count of wire fraud and would face up to 20 years in prison, if convicted. The banker pleaded not guilty and was released on a $200,000 bail. “Russell turned the demand for cryptocurrency investments into a scheme to defraud numerous investors in order to fund his lifestyle,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace was quoted as stating. “This Office will continue to aggressively pursue fraudsters perpetrating these schemes against investors in the digital asset markets,” he emphasized. Russel’s indictment comes amid an ongoing crackdown on crypto-related fraud in the United States. Do you think U.S. prosecutors and regulators will intensify the crackdown on crypto investment fraud schemes? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Economist Peter Schiff has cautioned that the present banking crisis is the cusp of a much worse financial crisis. “It’s going to get much much worse if you are going to try to dismiss it,” he stressed. Citing the Federal Reserve’s recession forecast, he warned: “Normally the Fed doesn’t forecast a recession. So if they can actually see this one coming, it likely means it will be massive.” Peter Schiff on Banking Crisis, Financial Crisis, and Recession Gold bug and economist Peter Schiff warned in a recent interview on Trader TV Live that the current banking crisis is not over and a much worse financial crisis will follow. Schiff explained that “Everybody has talked about a banking crisis” but “nobody wants to refer to it as a financial crisis.” He exclaimed: “No! This is a financial crisis. The 2008 financial crisis was also a banking crisis unless people forget it was the banks that were failing.” The economist stressed: This is the cusp of the crisis. It’s going to get much much worse if you are going to try to dismiss it. He compared the current crisis to the subprime mortgage crisis, noting that the Federal Reserve is saying: “It’s just a couple of banks. It’s just Silicon Valley Bank or Signature Bank or the other one that failed. That’s like when the subprime blowup first happened, nobody wanted to admit that it was a mortgage crisis. They just said: ‘Oh, it’s just contained to these handful of subprime mortgages. Don’t worry about it, nothing to see here, it’s no big deal, it’ll just blow right over … That’s exactly what they are saying now: ‘This is nothing, it’s no big deal.'” However, Schiff argued: It is a big deal. It’s not nothing. Regarding the likelihood of big banks failing, Schiff said: “Those banks are insolvent too. It’s just that they’re too big to fail so we won’t let them but that just means we have to print a lot of money to prevent them from failing.” Nonetheless, he cautioned that the Federal government rescuing depositors of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank but not smaller banks “is going to create a run on these small banks,” emphasizing: “That’s going to create a huge problem.” Commenting on the Fed minutes that were released on Wednesday, Schiff tweeted: “According to its recent minutes, the Fed no longer expects a soft landing, but a mild recession. What makes the Fed think the recession will be mild?” He continued: Normally the Fed doesn’t forecast a recession. So if they can actually see this one coming, it likely means it will be massive. Do you agree with Peter Schiff? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Economist Peter C. Earle says de-dollarization has begun, emphasizing that “It’s not just the conscription of the dollar in economic warfare, but increasingly error-fraught monetary policy regimes that are driving various interests away from the greenback.” He described: “By weaponizing dollar dominance and permitting expanding mandates to disorient U.S. monetary policy, the dollar’s fate as the lingua franca of world commerce over the long haul may already be sealed.” Rising De-Dollarization Trend Economist Peter C. Earle wrote an opinion piece, titled “De-dollarization Has Begun,” published by the American Institute of Economic Research last week. He explained that “The profound economic disruption experienced by Iran, and more recently Russia, after being evicted from dollar-based trading systems like SWIFT … have led many nations to consider imminent contingency plans,” elaborating: It’s not just the conscription of the dollar in economic warfare, but increasingly error-fraught monetary policy regimes that are driving various interests away from the greenback. The monetary policy response to the 2008 crisis and the Covid outbreak caused unpredictable fluctuations in the dollar’s value, the economist detailed. The pandemic triggered a massive expansionary response in 2020, followed by an initial disregard for the inflation outbreak that subsequently hit four-decade highs “before an aggressive contractionary shift in policy that destabilized precarious financial institutions was implemented,” he noted. Earle referenced efforts by several countries in attempting to reduce their reliance on the U.S. dollar, including the agreement between China and Brazil to settle trades in local currencies. In addition, the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) are reportedly working to create a new currency. According to the economist, cryptocurrencies, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and baskets of commodities representative of a given nation are among the U.S. dollar alternatives being discussed. However, he cautioned that “Moving away from the dollar brings substantial barriers to exit as well as network effects to overcome, owing to historical, technological, financial, and habitual obstacles.” While stating that “The dollar, in some shape or form, will likely be around for a long time. Perhaps very long,” Earle warned: By weaponizing dollar dominance and permitting expanding mandates to disorient U.S. monetary policy, the dollar’s fate as the lingua franca of world commerce over the long haul may already be sealed. “So long as the political will to moor US fiscal and monetary policies to those consistent with the constitution of sound money remain an inconversable matter, de-dollarization will proceed. And slower or more quickly, the dollar will lose ground abroad,” he concluded. A number of economists have made predictions about the future of the U.S. dollar. Nouriel Roubini, aka Dr. Doom, anticipates that the global reserve currency system will shift from being unipolar to bipolar. Investment manager Larry Lepard said the USD could lose most of its value in five years. Meanwhile, gold bug Peter Schiff recently advised people to get rid of their dollars now and Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki reiterated his prediction that the U.S. dollar is dying. Do you agree with Peter C. Earle about de-dollarization? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article