roadrunner

Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of Latin America’s most relevant crypto and economic news during the last week. In this issue: Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva pushes to issue a BRICS common currency, Binance drops card services, and Argentina gets invited to be part of BRICS. Brazil’s Lula Pushes for BRICS Common Currency Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, president of Brazil, referred to the advantages of issuing a common currency in the BRICS bloc, integrated by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. As part of his participation at the recent BRICS leaders summit, Lula stated: The creation of a currency for trade and investment transactions between BRICS members increases our payment options and reduces our vulnerabilities. Opposing Lula’s vision, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov explained that “no one” was thinking about a single currency and that the group was focused on finding a way of making their economic investments and transactions independent from the U.S.-controlled financial system. While the project of a common currency could not be concreted during this summit, the importance of “encouraging the use of local currencies in international trade and financial transactions” was mentioned in the final declaration of the BRICS summit. Binance Drops Cards Services Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange, announced it would no longer be able to offer its card-related products in Latam and the Middle East starting on September 21. While the company did not give more details, reports indicate that Mastercard dropped its partnership with Binance in these jurisdictions, leaving it without a credit partner to back these services. Binance stated that only a “tiny portion of our users (less than 1% of users in the markets mentioned)” were impacted by this decision and directed users to settle transactions with crypto-native payment systems, like Binance Pay, when available. Argentina Invited to Be Part of BRICS Leaders of the BRICS bloc announced the expansion of the roster of countries that integrate the organization, with Argentina being one of them. The troubled country, currently facing record levels of devaluation and inflation, was invited to be part of an expanded BRICS organization starting January 1, 2024. Argentine President Alberto Fernandez welcomed the invitation, stating that “a new scenario” opened up for the nation. On the role of BRICS in the new upcoming economic world, Fernandez detailed: [They] play a determining role in the requirement to design a global financial architecture that takes into account the needs of growth, trade, investment, and social welfare. To follow all the latest developments in crypto and the economy in Latin America, sign up for our Latam newsletter below. What do you think about this week’s Latam Insights report? Tell us in the comment section below. View the full article

Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations (U.N.), has noted changes that need to happen with today’s financial institutions to fit into the current multilateral world. During the recent BRICS leaders summit, Guterres said that the current “outdated, dysfunctional, and unfair” financial system needs to be reformed, including Bretton Woods institutions. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres: We Must Urgently Reinvigorate Multilateralism Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations (U.N.), has called to embrace cooperation and multilateralism, explaining that there was “no choice” as the world becomes more multipolar. At the recent BRICS leaders summit in Johannesburg, Guterres stated that multipolarity was not guaranteed to achieve peace and that more should be done to grow a “global community.” Guterres blasted the global establishment, stating: As the global community moves towards multipolarity, we desperately need a strengthened and reformed multilateral architecture based on the U.N. Charter and international law. Furthermore, Guterres acknowledged current institutions were outdated and answered to a deprecated world configuration, calling for reforms that would “reflect today’s power and economic realities, and not the power and economic realities of the post-Second World War.” “This is particularly true of the Security Council of the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions,” Guterres specified, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in his call for reform. The U.N. Security Council has been widely criticized as small and ineffective by several scholars consulted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Financial System Reform Guterres reinforced the need to reform the current financial system as part of what he called “priorities for action and justice.” Nonetheless, he recognized that this is unlikely to happen quickly in today’s geopolitical situation. Guterres stated: Redesigning today’s outdated, dysfunctional, and unfair global financial architecture is necessary, but I know it won’t happen overnight. Yet we can – and must – take practical action now. The BRICS bloc, integrated by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has been moving to create a new alternative financial architecture away from Western traditional power centers and the influence of the U.S. dollar. The BRICS “Johannesburg II Declaration” stressed the need to transact in national currencies and called for the consideration of “the issue of local currencies, payment instruments and platforms” for the next summit that will be held in Kazan. What do you think about Guterres’ criticism of current financial institutions? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Nicolas Maduro, the president of Venezuela, has called to de-dollarize the global economy due to the difficulties the current system brings to emerging countries affected by U.S. sanctions. In a message directed to the BRICS leaders, Maduro called to establish alternative settlement systems using national currencies. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Reinforces the Need to Create a De-Dollarized Economic System Nicolas Maduro, President of Venezuela, has called for creating an emerging economic system away from the dominance of the U.S. dollar. In a message sent as part of Venezuela’s participation in the BRICS leader summit, held recently in Johannesburg, Maduro stated the reality of the geopolitical situation of the last years has reinforced the need for the de-dollarization of the world economy. Maduro said this had to be done due to the “indiscriminate use and abuse of the U.S. dollar as a tool for waging an economic war against the free people of the world.” Venezuela has been the target of economic sanctions that have affected the sale of oil and other operations of PDVSA, the state-owned oil company, and have blocked U.S. nationals from financing or purchasing the petro, the Venezuelan cryptocurrency asset. The Damages and a New Way These “imperialist” sanctions and economic warfare measures, Maduro stated, have touched at least 28% of the world population in 30 nations. “The damage to our economies and development models is undeniable,” Maduro explained, detailing that these measures affected the human rights situation in each of these countries. Talking to the leaders of the nations of the BRICS group, integrated by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, Maduro called for configuring a new financial system to allow BRICS countries and its allies to settle transactions with “new physical and digital tools.” He mentioned a basket of currencies as one of the tools to reach this objective. Maduro also referred to the need to create new sources of financing to contribute to the recovery and growth of emerging economies. Furthermore, he offered Venezuela’s experience in countering the effects of sanctions on the BRICS bloc to “dismantle the financial and commercial domination system.” Venezuela presented an official application to be part of the BRICS bloc on August 1, but it was not selected amongst the new six nations invited to be part of the group starting next year. What do you think about Nicolas Maduro’s call to create a new de-dollarized alternative financial system? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Crypto exchange Binance has dropped Russian banks under sanctions from the payment options on its peer-to-peer (P2P) platform. Russian traders can no longer use cards issued by these banks to make payments while transactions in foreign fiat currencies are also restricted for them. Binance No Longer Offers P2P Traders Option to Pay Through Sanctioned Russian Banks The world’s largest digital asset exchange, Binance, has dropped Russian banks placed under Western sanctions from its P2P service, the Wall Street Journal reported. The move comes after the crypto giant faced criticism for facilitating payments through such institutions. A few days ago, Russian crypto media revealed that Binance has renamed bank cards issued by Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, and the neobank Tinkoff to “green local card” and “yellow local card” after the publishing of an earlier WSJ article alleging that the exchange is helping Russians move money abroad in circumvention of sanctions. Unprecedented restrictions have been imposed on Russia’s finances since last year over Moscow’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine. In May, Bloomberg unveiled that Binance is being investigated by the U.S. Justice Department for allowing Russian clients to make transactions involving at least five sanctioned Russian banks. According to the Russian crypto news outlet Bits.media, Binance users from Russia still have 15 payment methods at their disposal to convert rubles into cryptocurrencies, including Raiffeisenbank, Russian Standard Bank as well as the Payeer and Advcash payment systems. The Russian-language crypto news portal Forklog noted that Russian residents are not allowed to use any fiat currencies other than the ruble. When they try to buy or sell foreign fiat, they are prompted to “Choose your local currency for P2P trading.” “This is required in accordance with the Binance rules for the country you specified during verification,” the message further reads. Access to P2P transactions in U.S. dollars and euros on were restricted for Russians in compliance with the 10th package of EU sanctions on their country. Do you think Binance will introduce further restrictions for Russian users on its P2P platforms? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi says crypto needs “a global framework and regulations.” He stressed: “The rapid pace of change of technology is a reality — there is no point in ignoring it or wishing it away. Instead, the focus should be on adoption, democratization, and a unified approach.” Modi on Crypto Regulation Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about cryptocurrency regulation in an interview with Business Today, published on Saturday. Modi, who recently returned to India from South Africa, where he attended the BRICS summit, said: The rapid pace of change of technology is a reality — there is no point in ignoring it or wishing it away. Instead, the focus should be on adoption, democratization, and a unified approach. “At the same time, the rules, regulations, and framework around it should not belong to one country or a group of countries. So not only crypto, but all emerging technologies need a global framework and regulations,” the Indian prime minister stressed. “A global consensus-based model is needed, especially one which considers the concerns of the Global South. We can learn from the field of aviation. Be it air traffic control or air security, there are common global rules and regulations governing the sector,” he described. India currently holds the G20 presidency. “In the past nine months, vast efforts and energy have been channeled into debt and crypto agendas,” Modi said, elaborating: India’s G20 presidency expanded the crypto conversation beyond financial stability to consider its broader macroeconomic implications, especially for emerging markets and developing economies. “The G20 reached a consensus on these matters, guiding standard-setting bodies accordingly. Our presidency also hosted enriching seminars and discussions, deepening insights into crypto assets,” the Indian leader concluded. Earlier this month, India released its “Presidency Note as an input for a Roadmap on Establishing a Global Framework for Crypto Assets.” In July, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published its proposed guidelines for a global regulatory framework for crypto assets. In April, the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors agreed that crypto regulation cannot be confined to one part of the world, noting that global policy responses are required. Do you agree with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about cryptocurrency regulations? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

A German expert says that the BRICS economic bloc adding several oil giants as new members “is a strategic success for China and Russia.” The BRICS leaders announced at their annual summit last week that they have invited Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Argentina, Egypt, and Ethiopia to join as new members. BRICS Adding 6 New Members Prof. Dr. Daniela Schwarzer, an executive board member at Bertelsmann Stiftung, an independent foundation based in Germany, said in an interview with Austria’s Der Standard newspaper that the BRICS economic bloc adding some of the world’s largest oil producers marks a strategic success for Russia and China. “Schwarzer is regularly consulted as an expert and policy advisor. She is currently a member of the working group convened by the French and German governments on reforming the EU,” Bertelsmann Stiftung described. “She also advised France and Poland during their respective EU presidencies and was a consultant to the French prime minister’s Centre dʼAnalyse Stratégique.” Schwarzer was quoted by Russian news outlet Tass as saying Friday: The expansion of the BRICS group is a strategic success for China and Russia … being joined by three of the world’s largest oil and gas exporters … Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Western leaders “must understand this enlargement as an attempt to establish a serious counterweight to the G7, whose share of the global GDP is steadily declining,” she emphasized. The BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) wrapped up their 15th annual summit last week. At the conclusion of the summit, the BRICS leaders announced that they have invited six countries to join the economic bloc: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, all six countries have said “yes” to membership, which will commence on Jan. 1, 2024. After the BRICS summit, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told reporters that while he believes “Western hegemony has not ended yet,” the expansion of the economic bloc “is a strong step in this direction” and “a very strong step towards a multipolar world.” According to South Africa which hosted the BRICS summit this year, Belarus is among the 23 countries that formally applied to join the BRICS group. In their declaration released Thursday, the BRICS leaders stressed the importance of encouraging the use of local currencies in international trade and financial transactions — a move that will reduce their reliance on the U.S. dollar. Do you agree with Schwarzer that the BRICS economic bloc adding oil giants as new members is a strategic success for Russia and China? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

In an announcement on Sunday, cryptocurrency mining rig manufacturer Bitmain revealed its intention to sell a machine designed for mining the digital currency monero (XMR). The machine boasts a hashrate of 212 kilohash per second (KH/s), and the firm asserts that it is the first “professional XMR miner” available. ‘Hard Fork Go Brrrrrrrr’ — Monero Mining Machine Launch by Bitmain Creates a Stir Bitmain is preparing for the unveiling of its latest XMR mining rig, the Antminer X5. Sales are scheduled to commence on September 4, according to the Sunday announcement. While the machine’s price remains undisclosed for now, the manufacturer has engaged its social media followers by inviting them to speculate on the price of the new X5 rig. Individuals whose price estimates fall within 5% of the actual value will have the chance to receive a $1,000 Bitmain coupon, while those within 10% will be rewarded with a $500 coupon. Although the announcement does not specify the value of the Randomx mining rig, it does provide insight into the machine’s specifications. For instance, the Antminer X5 produces 212 KH/s and consumes 1,350 watts from the power source. The X5 boasts an efficiency rating of 6.37 joules per kilohash. The X5 is slated for sale on September 4, with shipping planned for September 10. Presently, statistics show Monero’s total network hashrate hovers around 2.06 gigahash per second (GH/s), equivalent to 2.06 million KH/s. Unsurprisingly, the introduction of the new miner has sparked conversations within the XMR community. Renowned for its focus on privacy, the cryptocurrency has consistently pursued resistance against application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), leading to multiple instances of forking to counter ASIC development. The Rabid Mining Youtube channel featured a video discussing the impending arrival of XMR ASICs. On the Reddit forum r/monero, the Rabid Mining video and ensuing discussions on the topic occupy the top post on the subreddit as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday. Certain members of the Reddit community suspect that these machines have potentially existed since December 2021. One individual playfully referenced “hard fork go brrrrrrrr,” alluding to a fork as a solution. Another criticized ASIC manufacturers for pursuing these types of machines, given that the “XMR community can break all their work with a few commits.” While many express optimism about the community’s potential to diverge from ASIC development through forking, others remain uncertain. One skeptic remarked: Mining algorithms are not that easy to design, take a look at the docs for Randomx, this will take some time to develop a new algorithm. The implementation of Randomx within Monero was a result of a hard fork in December 2019. The consensus algorithm aimed to resist ASICs and enhance accessibility to the mining process. It’s worth noting that achieving complete ASIC resistance presents challenges, as ASIC manufacturers relentlessly continue to develop new models. Additionally, achieving ASIC resistance has proven arduous for various cryptocurrency projects over the years. While some opt for hard forks to diverge from ASIC development, some projects have ultimately accepted the presence of ASICs within their networks. What do you think about Bitmain’s new machine that can mine monero and the Randomx algorithm? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Researchers from Glassnode and Ark Invest have collaborated to develop a new economic model for analyzing Bitcoin’s onchain metrics called “Cointime Economics.” The framework offers an alternative way to measure the economic activity and value of bitcoin based on “coinblocks” rather than the standard accounting method of unspent transaction outputs, or UTXOs. Cointime Economics: A Unique Framework for Analyzing Bitcoin The Cointime Economics white paper explains that coinblocks are the product of the number of bitcoin, or BTC, multiplied by the number of blocks they are held without moving. For instance, ten bitcoins held for ten blocks would equal 100 coinblocks. This method aims to capture the real economic weight and importance of each bitcoin based on the time it remains dormant. The longer a bitcoin is unmoved, the higher its cointime and implied economic significance. Cointime Economics introduces metrics such as coinblocks created, destroyed, and stored to describe Bitcoin’s economic state over time. It also proposes ratios such as “liveliness,” which measures network activity, and “vaultedness,” which gauges inactiveness. When applied to bitcoin supply, this framework distinguishes between active supply and vaulted supply to assess true inflation and other factors. According to the researchers, Cointime Economics can enhance existing valuation models like the Market Value to Realized Value, or MVRV ratio by substituting active value and investor value for the traditional market cap and realized cap. They present a modified Active Value to Investor Value, or AVIV, ratio using cointime concepts that might more accurately indicate when BTC is overvalued or undervalued. The framework also enables new onchain analytics to measure Bitcoin’s volume- and time-weighted cost basis. As an example, the white paper introduces “Cointime Price” as a metric weighing both transaction volume and length of ownership. On May 7, 2023, the Cointime Price was $17,568, considerably below BTC’s market price. Overall, the researchers believe Cointime Economics offers a consistent way to quantify Bitcoin’s economic activity and importance that takes into account the time coins are stored. They argue metrics based on coinblocks and cointime might provide significant advantages over models relying only on traditional UTXOs and blockchain data. Authors James Check, the lead analyst at Glassnode, and co-author David Puell, a research associate at Ark Invest, noted that the introduction of this new conceptual framework aims to give analysts more robust tools for evaluating Bitcoin’s onchain fundamentals. What do you think about Cointime Economics? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

A new report unveils a surge in gold acquisitions by Eastern nations, challenging the West’s long-standing dominance in gold pricing and altering the power equation in the global arena. Research Highlights East’s Rise as Challenger to West’s Gold Pricing Tradition In a comprehensive exposé on Seeking Alpha, Gainesville Coins’ gold analyst Jan Nieuwenhuijs emphasizes the waning control of the West over the global gold market, attributed to the East’s robust acquisitions. “The global gold landscape has witnessed a pivotal shift. During the latter part of 2022 and early 2023, the East has been pushing gold prices upwards, effectively shattering the West’s historical pricing stronghold,” the author asserts. Nieuwenhuijs sheds light on a nearly 90-year trend up to 2022 where gold movement between the West and East mirrored price oscillations. The analyst stressed that the West, being the price-setter, would buy from the East when prices surged and, conversely, would offload gold to the East in bearish phases. Yet, the narrative took a turn in late 2022. Despite stable real interest rates, gold’s valuation shot up by 17% from October 2022 to June 2023. Throughout this phase, with the U.K. and Switzerland continuing as net gold exporters, it became clear that the West wasn’t propelling this price surge. Concurrently, Nieuwenhuijs notes a significant uptick in Switzerland’s gold exports to Asia. He posits that covert acquisitions by central banks in emerging markets, especially those aiming to cut down on dollar assets post the seizure of Russia’s reserves, were responsible. Robust private demand in nations like Turkey and China also had a hand in this, emphasizes Nieuwenhuijs. Drawing his insights to a close, the report foresees sustained centralized buying, which could further undercut the West’s influence over gold pricing. Nieuwenhuijs speculates that if the East persists in its gold purchases, the precious metal might shake off its dollar-linked status and assume a heightened stature in the global monetary framework. In April 2023, gold breached the $2,000 mark, nearly eclipsing its 2020 peak in early May. At the time, Baruch Silvermann, The Smart Investor’s CEO, then forecasted gold possibly touching the $2,500 mark. “From an investor perspective, we didn’t see the peak yet, and the peak may be much higher than $2,000 – $2,500 in the long term,” Silvermann conveyed to CBS News in an interview published in April. In his report on Seeking Alpha, Nieuwenhuijs leaned on customs data, worldwide gold movements, inventory shifts, and futures market dynamics to buttress his insights. Currently, gold is stationed slightly over the $1,900 mark at $1,914 per troy ounce of .999 pure gold. While the precious metal has dipped 2.9% in the past month, its half-yearly trajectory reveals a 5% appreciation against the U.S. dollar. Zooming out, gold has appreciated 8.8% against the dollar in the past year and 61% over the previous half-decade. What do you think about Nieuwenhuijs’ report about the West losing dominance over gold pricing? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

According to the latest statistics, sales of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have taken a 14% dip compared to the preceding week, tallying up to $91.86 million in the past seven days. Interestingly, the count of purchasers rose by 38%; however, NFT transactions witnessed a decline of over 30% during this week. NFT Transactions Dip Over 30% Amid 14% Sales Decrease From Sunday, August 20, to Sunday, August 27, 2023, the journey of non-fungible token sales led to a total of $91.86 million exchanging hands throughout the week. However, there was a slip in sales, marking a 14.06% decline from the previous week. Among these figures, Ethereum sales, though 13.87% lower this week, maintained a lion’s share, contributing $56.35 million to the overall total of $91.86 million. Solana secured the second spot in blockchain sales, amassing a sum of $8,592,656 over the course of the past seven days. Nevertheless, Solana sales faced an 8.95% drop compared to last week’s SOL-based NFT sales. The sales leaderboard showcased Ethereum and Solana at the forefront, followed by Polygon, Mythos, Immutable X, BNB, and Bitcoin. Bitcoin’s position remained consistent in seventh place for three consecutive weeks, having slipped from its former second position. BTC-centric NFTs garnered $2,130,582 this week, yet these numbers were 22.05% lower than the previous week’s records. Among the top ten blockchains, Cardano and Arbitrum were the sole gainers in terms of percentage growth this week. Shifting the focus to the most prominent collections over the past seven days, the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) emerged as the frontrunner, securing $10.18 million. Despite facing turbulent times in recent weeks, resulting in a significant decrease in the collection’s floor value, BAYC NFT sales defied the odds by surging 99% higher than the previous week. Following closely behind BAYC were Dmarket, Sorare, Draftkings, Cross the Ages, and Mutant Ape Yacht Club, in that order. Notably, Cross the Ages experienced an astonishing 1,025.50% surge in sales compared to the previous week. Topping the list of notable NFT sales this week was BAYC #7485, which fetched $175,923 merely 15 hours ago. A close second was an NFT named “Crown,” which changed hands six days prior for $168,187. The third and fourth spots were claimed by two BAYC NFTs, while the fifth position was secured by a Cryptopunks NFT that commanded a price of $128,371. Interestingly, a significant majority of the top 20 NFT sales this week hailed from the Cryptopunks NFT collection. What do you think about this week’s NFT sales data? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

Approximately 16 trillion PEPE tokens worth $15 million were illicitly transferred to crypto exchanges and sold, according to an announcement from the meme coin’s anonymous lead developer. The theft was allegedly orchestrated by three former team members who accessed the token’s multi-signature wallet before removing themselves from the project. Despite this setback, the lead developer has promised to continue moving the project forward and to fully decentralize it. Anonymous Pepe Dev Reveals $15 Million in PEPE Tokens Stolen by Ex-Team Members Three former PEPE team members allegedly took around 16 trillion PEPE tokens worth $15 million from the meme coin’s multi-sig wallet on August 24, 2023. The meme coin tokens were then quickly transferred to cryptocurrency exchanges Okx, Binance, Kucoin, and Bybit and sold, according to a statement from PEPE’s lead developer. The purported thieves reduced the required signer count for transactions from the wallet to just 2 out of 8 before draining the address of approximately 60% of its holdings. After the funds were obtained, they deleted their social media accounts and disassociated themselves from the PEPE project, the lead dev’s statement claims. Despite this major setback, PEPE’s lead developer is promising to continue developing the meme coin and says the remaining 10 trillion PEPE tokens in the compromised multi-sig wallet are now secure. The developer plans to transfer those tokens to a new wallet and eventually burn all of them to fully decentralize the meme token project. “I am shocked at what took place and would like to apologize for all of the fear and uncertainty and any losses the actions of these bad actors have caused members of our community,” the anonymous lead developer wrote in the statement posted on social media on August 25. The developer said they are in negotiations to purchase PEPE-related web domains and usernames using some of the remaining tokens before burning the rest. “Once all is set and complete, I would like PEPE to be left in a position where it can stand and thrive as strong as ever in a truly decentralized and anti-fragile state,” the PEPE developer wrote. What do you think about the PEPE meme token project’s current issues? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below. View the full article

This week’s hottest stories detail a potential skyrocketing of bitcoin’s price to $400,000, connected with the upcoming 2024 halving event, emphasis on trade in local currencies made at the conclusion of the recent BRICS summit in South Africa, and claims of 260% faster hash detection via new BTC mining technology. This and more in the latest Bitcoin.com News Week in Review. BRICS Leaders Declare Importance of Using Local Currencies in International Trade The BRICS leaders stress “the importance of encouraging the use of local currencies in international trade and financial transactions” in their declaration released at the conclusion of their 15th annual summit. In addition, the BRICS nations have tasked their finance ministers and central bank governors to “consider the issue of local currencies, payment instruments, and platforms.” Read More XRP Value Plunges 39% Post-SEC Verdict: XRP Army Remains Optimistic Amid Market Turbulence It’s been 40 days since the U.S. court issued a partial verdict in the SEC’s case against Ripple. In that timeframe, the digital currency XRP’s value has slumped by a significant 39.43%. Read More UK Researchers Claim New Tech Supercharges Bitcoin Mining With 260% Faster Hash Detection, Slashes Energy Use Quantum Blockchain Technologies (QBT), a research firm hailing from the U.K., purports to have spearheaded a revolutionary leap in bitcoin mining tech. They’ve unveiled certain methods that reportedly enhance the chances of pinpointing a winning hash. One such strategy, dubbed “Method B,” asserts it elevates the likelihood by a remarkable 260% compared to traditional mining searches, simultaneously slashing energy use by 4.3%. Read More Analysis Suggests Bitcoin’s 2024 Halving Could Propel Price to $400,000 The highly anticipated 2024 bitcoin halving could spark a meteoric price rise, potentially driving its value to a staggering $400,000, suggests an analysis by Blockware Solutions. The forecasted supply trim in 2024 might ignite an explosive demand for bitcoin. The report highlights how a dynamic duo — a dip in sell-off pressures and a burgeoning buying spree — might set the stage for bitcoin’s most monumental cycle price surge ever. Read More What effect do you think the upcoming halving will have on the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) when launching Web3 games as well as developers’ emergence as experts at community management are some of the promising trends in blockchain gaming that can accelerate mass adoption, Ken Timsit, the managing director (MD) at Cronos Labs, has said. Timsit also pointed to the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in making games more interesting as another reason why he is optimistic about the technology’s mass adoption prospects. AI Model Biases and the Limits of Blockchain Meanwhile, when asked if AI can help stem a practice in which gamers use fraudulent means to obtain valuable in-game assets, the boss of Cronos Labs, a Web3 startup accelerator, told Bitcoin.com News that it is still too early to know if generative AI can be the game changer. However, he nonetheless acknowledged that AI models can be essential in detecting bots which some players use to fraudulently acquire in-game assets. While critics of current AI models like Chapgpt have proposed using the blockchain to decentralize them, Timsit warned that doing this could mean “anyone can run an AI model that reflects their particular worldview.” According to the Cronos Labs boss, this could cause the AI landscape to experience the kind of polarization that is seen in the media and on social media platforms. In his written answers to questions sent to him via Telegram, Ken Timsit also said he expects speculation to remain an indispensable part of Web3 gaming. Timsit however said managing Web3 gamers composed of users “who happen to be speculating” and pure speculators remains equally important. Bitcoin.com News (BCN): Your company is said to be a Web3 startup accelerator with a special focus on decentralized finance (defi) and blockchain games. This means you likely have a clear view of the innovations happening in blockchain gaming. In your opinion, what are the three most promising trends in blockchain gaming you see emerging that could accelerate mass adoption? Ken Timsit (KT): First, the best Web3 game developers have become experts at community management. This includes the use of NFT [non-fungible token] launches to convey a narrative and mobilize fans, and more broadly execution excellence when it comes to listening and responding to user feedback. This type of user-centricity is very promising when it comes to ensuring that new products find their market quickly. Second, games are making use of the latest technology trends to simplify the user experience, such as ultra-cheap application-specific layer 2 or 3 blockchain networks, account abstraction, and new NFT standards that make it possible to lend game assets. We are supporting these game-specific requirements on the Cronos blockchain, and there are several startups of the Cronos Accelerator Program who are building tools to make it easier for developers to create their tech stack, such as Omnus, Sakaba and Solace. Third, game creators are making use of AI to make games more interesting. The implementation is not straightforward since it’s important to make sure that all ChatGPT-enabled characters don’t sound the same. BCN: Since blockchain games give users ownership of in-game assets that they can trade, sell or move to another game, there is a real possibility of some users indulging in fraudulent practices to obtain valuable in-game assets. Can AI prove useful in preventing fraud in Web3 games? KT: Many Web2 and Web3 games offer gamers the opportunity to earn in-game currency or assets by “grinding,” meaning by playing the game for hours and completing quests. This opens an incentive for players to deploy bots to play in their stead. Bot players can disrupt the balance of the in-game economy, which is not easy to achieve in the first place. Large game companies have been spending millions of dollars and using AI-based prediction engines to fight bots for a while. It’s not clear that LLMs [large language models] and generative AI, which are the real breakthroughs of 2022 and 2023, will help a lot in bot detection, but certainly, other AI models are bound to be essential. BCN: Decentraland recently partnered with the AI startup Inworld to bring AI-powered non-player characters (NPCs) into its metaverse games to make the experience more alive and engaging. In your view, what other challenges do Web3 games face that could be solved using AI smarts? KT: First, AI tools are already great enhancers of productivity for game developers, whether they are code auto-completion and language translation tools for the dev team, generative AI for image and video creative assets for the marketing team, or content moderation tools for the safety teams. These tools are already broadly used by the start-ups of the Cronos blockchain ecosystem. Another area that is really important for Web3 is community management, which can be really labour-intensive at scale, and I am hoping that we will soon see tools that augment the productivity of human community managers. Second, AI-powered conversations with NPCs are an area of innovation that has already been pioneered by RPGs before generative AI and holds great promise with the advent of large language models (LLM) since now every developer can have access to this technology cheaply. Having said that, these innovations will only shine if there is strong gameplay underpinning the instructions given to the LLM to drive the outcome of the conversation with the end user. Idle conversation with an AI bot can get old really fast. Third, AI-based user-generated content is likely coming. It is going to require some experimentation and fine-tuning because, for example, if you tell your AI assistant to build a house for you in a virtual world, it somewhat takes the thrill out of the crafting experience. BCN: There have been many reported instances of AI tools like Chatgpt being biased. The biases could be due to the data that is fed into them as well as who controls the data set. Do you believe AI should be decentralized and that blockchain technology can help decentralize it? KT: The crypto industry is building decentralized financial rails that make it easier for anyone to create, deploy and monetize their AI model or service and access a global user community. Crypto holds great promise when it comes to counterbalancing the dominance of market leaders like OpenAI who aim to become omnipresent across all facets of our lives and have inherent biases in their training due to data selection and reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF). On the other hand, the decentralization of the AI economy means that anyone can run an AI model that reflects their particular worldview. The AI landscape will experience the same polarization that we are seeing in the media and social media industries, so it’s important that we all understand the limitations of any content that is offered for our consumption. BCN: Community is how games are built and sustained over a period of decades. How does Cronos help Web3 games in its ecosystem expand their respective communities? KT: Cronos Labs is the start-up accelerator and ecosystem development arm of the Cronos blockchain. Cronos Labs runs three main programs to help founders to find product market fit. First, the Builders program gives access to technical and community building advice, community AMAs, introductions to key opinion leaders and other projects, and special promotions from a variety of vendors like Blockdaemon, NFTScan, Versa Games and Cronos ID. Second, the Ecosystem Grants program adds financial support to help apps to grow their community. Typically, these grants are tied to the achievement of user traction metrics. Finally, the Accelerator program is a selective hands-on, 10-week curriculum to help start-ups speed up their product development and fund-raising efforts. For the last cohort, the program selected 8 start-ups out of more than 350 applications. Applications for the next cohort are opening soon. BCN: Do you believe that speculation will always be an element of Web3 games, given that tokens and NFTs are the cornerstone of how they function? KT: Most games are competitive in nature, and involve some rewards earned through a combination of skills and efforts. Web3 technology is a tool that expands the art of the possible when it comes to creating game economies. Gamefi makes it easy to reward early game adopters with special benefits and to create transparent secondary markets for game assets. I expect that Web3 will remain primarily tied to the creation of innovative and transparent reward mechanisms for players, which involve a significant degree of speculation, so it’s important to manage the mix of users between gamers who happen to be speculating on one hand, and pure speculators on the other hand. What are your thoughts about this interview? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

While over half of Russians are willing to put some money into their nation’s digital ruble, only 2% say they would keep all their savings in it. Insufficient information and fear of system failures are among the biggest factors turning people away from the government-issued digital currency. Nearly a Quarter of Russians Would Store Less Than $200 in State-Issued Digital Ruble More than half of Russian citizens aged 18 to 65 are ready to keep money in the central bank digital currency (CBDC) issued by the Bank of Russia, a survey among 2,000 people ordered by the Russian SPB Exchange has shown. According to the results, quoted by the Russian daily Izvestia on Thursday, almost a quarter of the respondents said they would convert between 5,000 and 20,000 regular rubles (approximately $50–$200) to the digital ones. About 15% of the polled admitted they would transfer no more than 5,000 rubles to the new electronic form of the national fiat. Another 9% would use the digital ruble system for keeping between 20,000 and 50,000 rubles of their personal funds. Around 2% of the polled are prepared to store 50,000 to 100,000 rubles in the central bank digital currency. For 3%, the amount would exceed 100,000 rubles. Only 2%, however, are ready to keep all their savings in digital rubles. Most of those who took part in the survey said they would like to start using the CBDC in their daily lives but some are turned away by the lack of sufficient information about the technology (22%) and fear of cybertheft or failure of the system (21%). Legislation designed to facilitate the introduction of the digital ruble was adopted by both houses of Russian parliament and signed by President Vladimir Putin in July. On Aug. 15, banks participating in the pilot project began testing CBDC operations with real users. Russia’s monetary authority told Izvestia that it aims to make the digital ruble transactions simple, convenient and cheap for businesses while for citizens they will also be free of charge. The CBDC may enter mass circulation in 2025–2027, the regulator added, noting that initially transfers to the digital ruble wallets will be capped at 300,000 rubles per month (a little over $3,000). Do you expect CBDCs like the digital ruble to be widely used in the future? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below. View the full article

The six countries that received an invitation to become members of BRICS at its summit have confirmed their decision to join the bloc, one of Russia’s top diplomats unveiled. The high-ranking official added that at this point in time it would be premature to name those in the next batch of candidates. BRICS and Its New Members Need Time Before Next Expansion Wave, Moscow Says All of the newly invited countries have reaffirmed their desire to join BRICS, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said at a press conference after the organization’s 15th annual summit which was held on Aug. 22-24 in South Africa. At their meeting in Johannesburg, the current five member states (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) agreed to admit six more nations as members of the group on Jan. 1, 2024 — Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. “All the countries who have been invited to join BRICS confirmed their willingness to accept the invitation in a positive manner and, I’d say, with an air of gratitude and appreciation,” Ryabkov stated, quoted by the Tass news agency. He also emphasized: Certainly, we will not wait for Jan. 1 to discuss how the invitees will be involved. An updated list of candidates for BRICS membership will be prepared for consideration at the group’s next annual summit in the Russian Federation, which will take up the one-year rotating chairmanship from South Africa. Ryabkov noted it’s too early to talk about further enlargement as a pause is needed to allow the bloc’s new member states to adapt. “I wouldn’t take it upon myself to name any potential next-wave candidates. To begin with, the current first ‘installment’ consists of six countries, which is more than the ‘founding five.’” “We need to see how this ‘football team,’ to borrow the expression from [Russian Foreign Minister] Sergey Lavrov, will perform directly on the field of play, how coordinated it is. Time is needed for adaptation and exchanging best practices,” the senior Russian diplomat added. “The main thing is that there is a political will, a firm intention to move ahead,” he pointed out. Do you think BRICS will invite more candidates for membership next year? Share your expectations in the comments section below. View the full article

India’s oil and gas minister says de-dollarization is a long way away. The official emphasized his desire to conduct all transactions in rupees, expressing his wish for the Indian currency to become “the lead currency in the world.” Indian Official on De-Dollarization India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri stated in an interview with CNBC on the sidelines of the B20 Summit in New Delhi on Friday that de-dollarization is a long way off. Puri explained that he expects the U.S. dollar to maintain its dominance in global trade. Commenting on factors that could dethrone the USD as the world’s reserve currency, he opined: I don’t know what kind of change [the dollar needs to] be affected but I don’t see it … It’s not so easy. The minister further shared that he does not see the Indian rupee challenging the U.S. dollar as a major global currency, even though it is being used in some oil transactions alongside the Chinese yuan and the Russian ruble. Nonetheless, he stressed: I would like to be able to transact everything in rupees … I wish the Indian rupee should be the lead currency in the world. But I’m also a realist. A growing number of countries are moving away from settlements in U.S. dollars. The BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), for example, are encouraging the use of local currencies in international trade and financial transactions. While acknowledging a growing de-dollarization trend, the Indian minister questioned: “The main point is that … there are arrangements, but the transactions which are taking place, how many percent is coming in rupees?” He noted: “We heard about decoupling. But these international arrangements, trading arrangements, payment arrangements, these have been in place for a long time.” Do you agree with the Indian official about de-dollarization? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

The U.S. dollar’s dominance in global payments has strengthened, according to data compiled by global financial messaging service SWIFT. The share of SWIFT FX transactions involving the U.S. dollar rose to a record 46% in July. In addition, the share of the transactions involving the Chinese yuan has increased. SWIFT Data Indicates US Dollar Dominance The dominance of the U.S. dollar in international payments has reached a record high, according to the latest transaction data from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), the leading global financial messaging service. SWIFT’s messaging platform, products, and services connect more than 11,000 banking and securities organizations, market infrastructures, and corporate customers in more than 200 countries and territories. The data shows that the share of SWIFT FX transactions involving the U.S. dollar rose to a record 46% in July, compared to slightly more than one-third a decade ago, Bloomberg reported this week. SWIFT compiles approximately 200 million FX confirmations annually. The rising number of SWIFT transactions involving the U.S. dollar has largely been achieved at the expense of the euro, which reached its highest point at a 46% share in 2012. The share of the European common currency in trades subsequently hit its lowest level on record, trading slightly below a quarter. SWIFT’s data also shows a growing trend in Chinese yuan-related transactions in global foreign exchange markets. In July, over 3% of instructions sent via SWIFT involved the Chinese yuan, which was the second time on record. In comparison, this figure stood at around 0.03% in 2010. A growing number of countries are ditching the U.S. dollar in favor of the Chinese yuan or other national currencies. A global de-dollarization movement is led by the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa). The economic bloc wrapped up its 15th annual summit this week, and the BRICS leaders agreed on the importance of encouraging the use of national currencies in international trade and financial transactions. Many economists have cautioned that the U.S. dollar’s dominance will not last forever, including Nobel laureate Paul Krugman. However, most do not see the Chinese yuan as a serious threat to dollar hegemony. Do you think the Chinese yuan could challenge the U.S. dollar’s dominance? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Economist Peter Schiff has warned about an impending “full-blown financial crisis” that he expects to hit the U.S. economy before the Federal Reserve reaches its inflation target. He further predicted that the financial crisis will force the Fed to raise its inflation target. Peter Schiff’s Latest Warnings Gold bug and economist Peter Schiff warned of an impending U.S. financial crisis in a series of posts on the X social media platform this week. Commenting on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at the central bank’s Jackson Hole symposium regarding inflation on Friday, Schiff wrote: “During his Jackson Hole speech, Powell admitted that the Fed still has a long way to go to achieve its 2% inflation target.” The gold bug exclaimed: That’s a gross understatement, as a full-blown financial crisis will ensue long before the target is hit, forcing the Fed to raise the target above 2%. In a follow-up post, the economist wrote: How can Powell give a speech about inflation and ignore the elephant in the room? The primary driver of inflation is soaring federal budget deficits. Despite his claims of Fed independence, Powell refuses to criticize [President Joe Biden]. That ensures the inflation problem will get worse.” On Wednesday, Schiff detailed on X: The greatest threat to America is not foreign, but domestic. It’s not Russia or China. It’s our own federal government and Federal Reserve. “They represent a far greater threat to our individual liberty, prosperity, posterity, and Constitution,” he opined. In a recent interview on Real America, Schiff criticized Bidenomics. While the Biden administration is touting its success, Schiff noted: “What has Biden done other than increase government spending and add extra regulations into the economy?” He opined: There’s nothing economic about that. It’s just a complete disaster. Schiff has repeatedly warned about an impending financial crisis. Earlier this month, he cautioned: “Investors still don’t understand the Fed can’t come close to putting the inflation genie back in the bottle without creating a far greater financial crisis than 2008.” In March, the economist described: “The Fed is once again responsible for another financial crisis, but it’s not the interest rate hikes, but the prior rate cuts that are to blame. As I said from the beginning when the Fed cut rates to zero it made a deal with the devil. The devil finally showed up to collect.” Do you agree with economist Peter Schiff? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki has outlined the reasons why investors should consider purchasing silver. He emphasized that despite the affordability of silver coins, most people still prefer to “save counterfeit fake dollars.” Robert Kiyosaki Highlights Reasons to Buy Silver The author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, has returned to outline the reasons why he believes investors should buy silver. Rich Dad Poor Dad is a 1997 book co-authored by Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. It has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for over six years. More than 32 million copies of the book have been sold in over 51 languages across more than 109 countries. Reiterating that silver is the “best investment bargain,” he wrote on the X social media platform on Thursday: Silver still 50% below all-time high, in demand by greenies solar EVs. Silver 2nd most used commodity after oil. Silver has been money for centuries. Who can’t afford 1 silver coin, yet most people prefer to save counterfeit fake dollars. Sad. At the time of writing, the price of silver is $24.22 per ounce. Kiyosaki has been recommending investors buy silver for quite some time. He calls gold and silver God’s money whereas the U.S. dollar is fake money because it’s not backed by hard assets. Earlier this month, the famous author urged investors to buy silver before it’s gone. He stressed that the precious metal is growing rarer, noting that silver is a better bargain as a long-term investment than gold because everyone can afford it. Besides silver, Kiyosaki also recommends gold and bitcoin. In February, he forecasted that by 2025, gold would be at $5,000, silver would touch $500, and bitcoin would surge to $500,000. Last week, he projected that if the world economy crashes, the price of bitcoin would soar to $1 million, while gold would reach $75,000 and silver $60,000. In January, he said gold’s price will increase to $3,000 while silver will hit $75 this year. What do you think about the recommendations by Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article

Palau’s Ripple-backed stablecoin pilot audit process is advancing, with the Ministry of Finance collaborating with auditors and turning in more than 200 documents for review. Jay Hunter Anson, a Palau Ministry of Finance member, explained he was ready to show auditors that every transaction can be traced thanks to the public ledger tech. Palau’s Ministry Of Finance Advances Stablecoin Audit Process The audit process on Palau’s stablecoin (PSC) pilot, a project that uses Ripple’s xrpl ledger to issue a dollar-backed stablecoin as a central bank digital currency (CBDC), is advancing, as the Ministry of Finance collaborates with the government auditors. Jay Hunter Anson, a member of the Ministry of Finance, offered an update about how blockchain technology would help in the process due to the traceability of each transaction. In a post on social media, Hunter Ansen stated: In-brief with auditor complete. 202 documents printed and will be submitted for review. Ready to walk the auditor through the public xrpl ledger where all PSC transactions are visible to everyone and can be traced from minting to destruction. Furthermore, Hunter Anson reinforced the total transparency and disclosure of the team behind the pilot, explaining that they had “nothing to hide.” Palau’s Stablecoin Pilot Audit Background The audit on the test phase of Palau’s Stablecoin, qualified by Hunter Anson as “very small, secure, and controlled,” was requested by Senator Mark Rudimch. Earlier this month, he directed a letter to Public Auditor Satrunino Tewid, where Rudimch explained his concerns about the test process. Rudimch criticized the legality of the program and the funds used for its implementation, stating that the Ministry of Finance might not have the faculties needed to organize the pilot. Hunter Anson has personally answered some of Rudimch’s inquiries, explaining that PSC was not another cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, being more akin to Alipay, a Chinese payment system used widely in Palau without requiring special laws to be passed. Also, Hunter Anson rejected Rudimch’s statements that implied the pilot hid monetary transactions, creating money laundering risks. Hunter Anson declared: The public ledger is fully transparent and KYC/AML/CFT compliance strictly enforced. All money and spending is 100% visible, traceable, and attributable. It is impossible to launder money using PSC. The fate of Palau’s stablecoin is still uncertain, as the government announced that the program would be evaluated for two months, with its upcoming expansion depending on the review of its impact, among other aspects. What do you think about the audit of Palau’s stablecoin pilot? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

Following a two-year long investigation, police have alleged that Israeli tech entrepreneur Moshe Hogeg defrauded investors of $290 million. Hogeg and several of his partners are accused of spending the money they collected from Israeli and foreign investors for crypto ventures to lead an extravagant life. Police in Israel Complete Investigation Against Alleged Crypto Scammer Moshe Hogeg Israeli investigators have concluded that suspected crypto scammer Moshe Hogeg should be indicted for fraud, theft and money laundering among other crimes, including forgery and tax offenses, Bloomberg reported. On Wednesday, they submitted their recommendation to prosecutors who will have to decide whether to charge him. According to the gathered evidence, Hogeg and his associates raised a total of $290 million from investors for four crypto ventures around five years ago by making false representation about the startups, the Israeli TV channel N12 detailed. Then they emptied the companies’ coffers and used the funds mostly for their own needs, including the purchase of а soccer club. Prosecutors will also review evidence that Hogeg committed sex crimes. He is believed to have flown girls from abroad who engaged in prostitution in Israel and paid tens of thousands of shekels (thousands of U.S. dollars) to women with whom he had sexual relations. Although the police investigated these suspicions, they have not been added to their recommendation for prosecution. In total, over 180 people in more than 20 countries have been questioned in the case which involved 30 suspects, two of which were investigated for sexual offenses and the rest for economic crimes. Dozens of searches were carried out and funds and assets worth tens of millions of shekels were seized. In the financial case, the Israeli police recommended prosecuting Hogeg and 18 other suspects for stealing from investors in Israel and other countries around the world including Japan, the United States and in Europe, the media reports revealed. Moshe Hogeg, a tech investor behind a number of failed startups who is still involved in various crypto and Web3 projects, was first arrested in 2021, along with seven other persons, for the alleged fraud committed in 2017 and 2018. He was later released and placed under house arrest. A spokesperson for Hogeg welcomed the conclusion of the investigation and the transfer of the case to the prosecutors. “We are convinced that after examining the case by the State Prosecutor’s Office, it will become clear that things are completely different from the various publications published over the years that did a great injustice to Moshe Hogeg,” his representative said in a statement. Do you expect Moshe Hogeg to be charged for the alleged crypto fraud? Share your thoughts on his case in the comments section below. View the full article

The Ministry of Economic Development of Russia does not expect the rapid development of a common currency for the BRICS bloc. Deputy Economic Development Minister Vladimir Ilyichev stated that “quick breakthroughs” on this issue are unlikely to happen during the ongoing BRICS summit, citing the process the European Union underwent to create the euro. Ministry of Economic Development of Russia Expects No ‘Quick Breakthroughs’ on a Common BRICS Currency The Ministry of Economic Development of Russia does not expect rapid decisions or announcements on issuing a common currency of the BRICS bloc, integrated by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. In an interview with CGTN, a Chinese news outlet, Deputy Economic Development Minister Vladimir Ilyichev indicated he was pessimistic about developing such a currency in the short term, even with the size and importance of the BRICS organization. He stated: The BRICS group’s economy accounts for about 25% of global GDP. In our view, it needs an independent payment tool. Discussions of a BRICS currency are relevant. However, the creation of new currencies and payment tools is never a quick process. Ilyichev explained that these processes take time, noting that the European Union debated the idea of the euro for years before its issuance. The bloc’s leaders have been pushing for the de-dollarization of trade and using national currencies in bilateral settlements. Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has supported the issuance of a common currency during the ongoing BRICS summit, stating that such a currency would increase the payment options and reduce the vulnerabilities of the countries of the bloc. Alternative Solutions While Ilyichev explained that this goal was not likely to be achieved quickly, he also pointed out that complementary solutions could be proposed and adopted instead. He detailed that adopting a basket of currencies, or even an existent fiat currency from one of the BRICS countries could be considered. Also, he mentioned a payment system using the convened currencies would be necessary for making cross-border payments between countries of the bloc. Ilyichev said that, in the current geopolitical situation, payment systems were affected by political circumstances, with Western countries exerting their influence on them according to their objectives and goals. This is another issue worrying BRICS countries and other nations, including Arab and Southeast Asian countries, Ilyichev stressed. What do you think about a BRICS common currency for trade settlements? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

BRICS nations should address the risks related to artificial intelligence (AI), Chinese President Xi Jinping said during the group’s summit in South Africa. China’s leader is also convinced that the members of the economic bloc must work to standardize the technology. BRICS Should Strive for AI Standardization, Chinese President Suggests BRICS members should resist the risks stemming from the implementation of AI technology and work together on its standardization, China’s head of state, Xi Jinping, said at a plenary session of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg. He was quoted by the Russian Tass news agency as stating: It is necessary to jointly work on lowering the risks related to employment of AI technology and develop the standards of its employment for making AI more secure, reliable and manageable. Xi also highlighted the key role of a BRICS working group in the cooperation and exchange of information on various issues connected with the adoption of technologies based on artificial intelligence. Leaders of the BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – met in South Africa for their annual summit on Aug. 22-24, with Russian President Vladimir Putin joining the talks via video link. The forum was also attended by the heads of state of around 40 other nations. Participants discussed a range of topics relevant to the development of their nations as well as the organization’s role on the world stage. These included the question of BRICS expansion as well as the promotion of wider use of local currencies in trade among member states and their partners. In a statement at the BRICS Business Forum, delivered by Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, Xi remarked that “right now, changes in the world, in our times and in history are unfolding in ways like never before, bringing human society to a critical juncture,” adding that “we all share a huge stake of survival” in a “shared future.” Met with initial enthusiasm, AI-based products such as Openai’s Chatgpt have also raised concerns that AI technologies could potentially displace human intelligence and supplant an array of jobs. Chinese state media have warned that chatbots may be used to spread misinformation while regulators in Italy, for example, were worried about inappropriate content. Do you think the BRICS nations will act together to adopt common regulations for AI technologies? Tell us in the comments section below. View the full article

The Solana-based digital asset exchange announced on Aug. 23 that it is planning the “most fair” token launch in the history of Solana. According to Cypher, part of the funds raised via the initial decentralized offering will be used “to sustain protocol development, pay for audits to relaunch the protocol, and initiate a treasury for the protocol.” August Hack Prompts IDO Cypher, the Solana-based decentralized exchange, said on Aug. 23 that it would kickstart what it called the most fair token launch in the history of Solana. In a statement issued via the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the Cypher team characterized the launch as part of steps being taken to make whole all users who suffered when the exchange was hacked on Aug. 7. According to a blog post titled Loss of Funds Resolution, the token launch was preceded by “a pro-rata redemption package of current assets in the Cypher protocol.” Such assets would be redeemed via wallets “that [are] associated to margin accounts on cypher.” Concerning how the exchange plans to use the funds raised from the token sale or an initial decentralized offering (IDO), Cypher said: Funds from the token launch will be used to sustain protocol development, pay for audits to relaunch the protocol, and initiate a treasury for the protocol. The decentralized protocol added debt token will be airdropped to users affected by the hack. Centralized Exchanges Froze $600K in Stolen Assets Following the attack in which the hacker exploited the cypher’s primary contract, several digital assets including over 15,400 SOL and nearly 150,000 USDC stablecoins were stolen. However, in the blog post, Cypher revealed that digital assets valued at $600,000 have since been frozen by various centralized exchanges. Recovery of these funds will only be possible with the cooperation of the exchanges and upon the issuing of seizure warrants by law enforcement. Meanwhile, in an illustration shared by Cypher via the digital exchange platform’s handle on X, the general public is set to be allocated 45.5% of the tokens. The Cypher team and investors are set to get 23% and 10.9% respectively while advisors are expected to get an allocation of just 1.2% of the issued tokens. What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. View the full article

The BRICS leaders stress “the importance of encouraging the use of local currencies in international trade and financial transactions” in their declaration released at the conclusion of their 15th annual summit. In addition, the BRICS nations have tasked their finance ministers and central bank governors to “consider the issue of local currencies, payment instruments, and platforms.” BRICS Declaration and Use of Local Currencies The BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) wrapped up their 15th annual summit on Thursday in Johannesburg. The three-day summit was held under the theme: “BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism.” The BRICS leaders released their “Johannesburg II Declaration” at the conclusion of the summit. The declaration states that all leaders of the BRICS nations are committed to “strengthening the framework of mutually beneficial BRICS cooperation.” Emphasizing that they “recognize the widespread benefits of fast, inexpensive, transparent, safe, and inclusive payment systems,” the BRICS leaders declared: We stress the importance of encouraging the use of local currencies in international trade and financial transactions between BRICS as well as their trading partners. “We also encourage strengthening of correspondent banking networks between the BRICS countries and enabling settlements in the local currencies,” the BRICS leaders added. They further proclaimed: We task our finance ministers and/or central bank governors, as appropriate, to consider the issue of local currencies, payment instruments and platforms and report back to us by the next summit. Russia will assume the 2024 BRICS Chairship and will hold the XVI BRICS Summit in the city of Kazan. The declaration further details that the BRICS nations recognize the key role of the New Development Bank (also known as the BRICS Bank) in “promoting infrastructure and sustainable development of its member countries.” In addition to Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, the New Development Bank includes Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Egypt as members, with Uruguay as a prospective member. The BRICS economic bloc has invited six countries to become new members: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Earlier, South Africa, the chair of this year’s BRICS summit, claimed that 23 countries have formally applied to join the group. “We have also tasked our foreign ministers to further develop the BRICS partner country model and a list of prospective partner countries and report by the next summit,” the declaration adds. What do you think about the BRICS declaration and the leaders’ push for the use of local currencies? Let us know in the comments section below. View the full article