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Solana Premier NFT Marketplace: Magic Eden Launches a Web3 Gaming Investment Arm

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Solana Premier NFT Marketplace: Magic Eden Launches a Web3 Gaming Investment Arm

Magic Eden, the most significant non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace on the Solana Blockchain, has launched an investment arm to support the Web3 gaming industry. The new entity, Magic Ventures, will invest in Web3 game developers and infrastructure builders, Magic Eden said in announcing the news on Tuesday 12th July. The company believes that gaming has the potential to bring millions of users to the blockchain. Tony Zhao, a former key member of Tencent Games, has been appointed as the head of game investment.

Jack Lu, co-founder, and CEO of Magic Eden said in the statement:

"The gaming world is a massive market that has just started to venture into the world of Web 3. We intend to deepen our relationships with both gamers and game developers alike to champion the future of games on the blockchain."

The company said that the creation of Magic Ventures and the appointment of Tony Zhao as head of gaming investments would enable Magic Eden to invest in promising games and gaming infrastructure that will fuel the growth of Web 3 gaming.

Tony Zhao will also be joined by Yoonsup Choi, Harrison Chang, and Matt Biamonte. They all deeply understand Web 3 gaming from their respective professional gaming and esports backgrounds. Yoonsup Choi and Harrison Chang are former League of Legends and Fortnite players, while Biamonte both launched NFT projects individually.

"By hiring Tony, Harrison, Yoon, and Matt, we are building a solid foundation on which we can continue to work with exciting innovators in the Web 3 gaming ecosystem. Eden Games is a rapidly growing company in our company sector. We look forward to continuing its growth,"  added Jack Lu, commenting on the new addition to the Magic Ventures team.

Magic Ventures has already made some investments and is planning more, Zhao said, but would not disclose which projects or startups it has invested in. He added that there is no set number in terms of the total dollar amount invested in projects, and the typical investment size is "pretty small" given the strategic nature.

"We're not here to fund the entire development [of games]," he said. "Our value-add is not capital—it's all of these infrastructure solutions and an NFT experience that no one else in the market can provide."

Web3 and Game Innovator Joins Together 

Along with the venture capital arm, Magic Eden's Eden Games division announced that it has entered into agreements with the makers of several Solana games, including Aurory, Mini Royale: Nations, and Genopets, to operate an in-game NFT marketplace. Once launched, players will be able to buy and sell NFTs in any game without having to travel to an external marketplace. It is designed to provide a seamless process for gamers, especially those unfamiliar with crypto wallets and self-custody assets. Zhao said that the infrastructure is available to developers, so they don't have to build integrations from scratch.

NFTs are blockchain tokens representing ownership of items such as art, collectibles, and interactive video game items. In games, NFTs can represent things like unique weapon designs, character avatars, and customizable virtual lots. As mentioned earlier, Magic Eden recently became a crypto unicorn with a valuation of over $1 billion. The company raised $130 million last month at a $1.6 billion valuation just nine months after the startup was founded.

The NFT marketplace plans to support more blockchain platforms beyond Solana in the future, although no specific chains have been announced.

Image source: Magic Eden

Magic Eden Joins in NFT Pursuit

Magic Eden's growing focus on Web3 gaming puts it in direct competition with Fractal, Solana's gaming-centric NFT marketplace co-founded by Justin Kan and co-founder of video game streaming platform Twitch. Fractal only focuses on interactive game assets, while Magic Eden also supports avatars and other types of NFT assets.

Zhao said that both Magic Eden and Fractal are focused on growing the Web3 gaming space. However, he believes Magic Eden offers a broader suite of solutions to launch and support Solana-based games and says the results boost his confidence.

He said, 

"We all want to expand the ecosystem. For game developers, we show them the data, right? It's up to them to decide who ends up choosing. The results tell developers that there are good reasons to work with us instead of Fractal."

Benefits of Launching NFT Marketplace on Solana

Solana is an open source decentralized blockchain that uses an innovative hybrid consensus model that enables swift transactions. Many digital content creators, investors, and entrepreneurs flock to Solana to create and showcase NFTs. The Solana blockchain enables a fully decentralized on-chain experience, while the Solana NFT standard and minting process provide creators with the highest level of customizability. Let's take a look at some of the business benefits of launching an NFT Marketplace on Solana.

Transactions per Second

The Solana blockchain is an ultra-fast blockchain that can process 710,000 transactions in 400 milliseconds and help transactions go through the market without delay. The average network latency for a bitcoin transaction today is between 12 to 15 seconds and takes about 10 minutes to verify on Ethereum.

Solana's block time is less than 1 second, which makes it one of the fastest decentralized networks available today! With the rapid increase in blockchain adoption and usage over the past few years, the need for faster and more efficient blockchain solutions is growing exponentially. It will continue to do so in the future as blockchain technology continues to mature and become increasingly mainstream.

Cost per Transaction

The Solana blockchain's high throughput and low transaction fees of $0.00025 make it the perfect solution for developing NFTs and NFT marketplaces of all shapes and sizes. The cost to create an item is also lower than other blockchains, making it a viable platform for developers needing quick and cheap development solutions while being able to scale easily with the platform's rising popularity.

No Memory Issues

Solana blockchain does not have mempool issues. The mempool is the waiting area for processed transactions waiting to be accepted. The result is an instant trade on the market. Solana does not have any of these problems that affect others who use Ethereum and are experiencing delays and high fees from the blockchains' inability to process the large volume of transactions in a short amount of time.

Expand the Ecosystem

The Solana ecosystem is expanding, which helps to handle large numbers of dapps and smart contracts and support more coins without network congestion. To do this, Solana added a second pool to handle all transactions, with an extra layer of security and redundancy for when the first pool goes down for maintenance or other reasons, which can happen very frequently during normal operation. This will also allow them to scale up further in the future as the community needs, without worrying about running out of capacity in the system as it grows each year exponentially!

Easy to Program

Solana blockchain is based on Rust software, which is easier to program and build different applications. This makes Solana a flexible platform for building NFT marketplaces, dapps, and more. Build your own preferred NFT marketplace on Solana and start earning with exemplary Solana NFT development services from the industry-leading Solana NFT marketplace development company.

Conclusion

The Solana NFT market is booming. The NFT marketplace and Solana blockchain impact today with their evolving advanced features and capabilities. From concept to design to delivery, Solana and the NFT market have seen significant growth in the market. The Solana network has been tested and debugged. It has grown from a prototype of an idea into a fully functional product used by hundreds of businesses worldwide today. Delivering on its promises of the best experience for all users across every device, platform, and browser, all in one place, and most importantly, on-chain! Solana will continue to focus on building the most extraordinary ecosystem on the planet as we look ahead to future releases.

 

 

 

About: Prince Chinwendu. (Nigeria) Rapid and sustainable human growth is my passion, and getting a life-changing opportunity into the hands of people is my calling. Empowering entrepreneurs provides me with enormous gratification. Find me at my Markethive Profile Page | My Twitter Account | and my LinkedIn Profile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tim Moseley

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The Climate Maniacs

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The Climate Maniacs

by Lew Rockwell, lewrockwell.com

 

The Climate Maniacs

 

A Strange New Argument?

Brain-dead Biden and the gang that controls him are promoting an argument that is strange even by the low standards of that criminal gang. “It’s hot outside. Let’s shut down the American economy and go green.” It doesn’t make sense, and its purpose is to kill people and destroy America in the process.

If the temperature goes up, is this good or bad? As Matt Ridley points out, on balance it’s very good: “Global warming is real. It is also – so far – mostly beneficial. This startling fact is kept from the public by a determined effort on the part of alarmists and their media allies who are determined to use the language of crisis and emergency. The goal of Net Zero emissions in the UK by 2050 is controversial enough as a policy because of the pain it is causing. But what if that pain is all to prevent something that is not doing net harm?

The biggest benefit of emissions is global greening, the increase year after year of green vegetation on the land surface of the planet. Forests grow more thickly, grasslands more richly and scrub more rapidly. This has been measured using satellites and on-the-ground recording of plant-growth rates. It is happening in all habitats, from tundra to rainforest. In the four decades since 1982, as Bjorn Lomborg points out, NASA data show that global greening has added 618,000 square kilometres of extra green leaves each year, equivalent to three Great Britains. You read that right: every year there’s more greenery on the planet to the extent of three Britains. I bet Greta Thunberg did not tell you that.

The cause of this greening? Although tree planting, natural reforestation, slightly longer growing seasons and a bit more rain all contribute, the big cause is something else. All studies agree that by far the largest contributor to global greening – responsible for roughly half the effect – is the extra carbon dioxide in the air. In 40 years, the proportion of the atmosphere that is CO2 has gone from 0.034 per cent to 0.041 per cent. That may seem a small change but, with more ‘food’ in the air, plants don’t need to lose as much water through their pores (‘stomata’) to acquire a given amount of carbon. So dry areas, like the Sahel region of Africa, are seeing some of the biggest improvements in greenery. Since this is one of the poorest places on the planet, it is good news that there is more food for people, goats and wildlife.

 

Global Greening…Better Bury It…

But because good news is no news, green pressure groups and environmental correspondents in the media prefer to ignore global greening. Astonishingly, it merited no mentions on the BBC’s recent Green Planet series, despite the name. Or, if it is mentioned, the media point to studies suggesting greening may soon cease. These studies are based on questionable models, not data (because data show the effect continuing at the same pace). On the very few occasions when the BBC has mentioned global greening it is always accompanied by a health warning in case any viewer might glimpse a silver lining to climate change – for example, ‘extra foliage helps slow climate change, but researchers warn this will be offset by rising temperatures’.

Another bit of good news is on deaths. We’re against them, right? A recent study shows that rising temperatures have resulted in half a million fewer deaths in Britain over the past two decades. That is because cold weather kills about ’20 times as many people as hot weather’, according to the study, which analyses ‘over 74million deaths in 384 locations across 13 countries’. This is especially true in a temperate place like Britain, where summer days are rarely hot enough to kill. So global warming and the unrelated phenomenon of urban warming relative to rural areas, caused by the retention of heat by buildings plus energy use, are both preventing premature deaths on a huge scale.

Surely this will change in the future? Probably not. Britain would have to get much, much hotter for summer mortality to start exceeding winter deaths. Not even Greece manages that. And the statistics show that – as greenhouse-gas theory predicts – on the whole more warming is happening in cold places, in cold seasons and at cold times of day. So winter nighttime temperatures in the global north are rising much faster than summer daytime temperatures in the tropics.

Summer temperatures in the US are changing at half the rate of winter temperatures and daytimes are warming 20 per cent slower than nighttimes. A similar pattern is seen in most countries. Tropical nations are mostly experiencing very slow, almost undetectable daytime warming (outside cities), while Arctic nations are seeing quite rapid change, especially in winter and at night. Alarmists love to talk about polar amplification of average climate change, but they usually omit its inevitable flip side: that tropical temperatures (where most poor people live) are changing more slowly than the average.”

Brain-dead Biden says that we should respond to this good news by destroying the American economy through the Green New Deal. According to Joel Kotkin, “‘The interesting thing about the Green New Deal is it wasn’t originally a climate thing at all… ‘Do you guys think of it as a climate thing? Because we really think of it as a how-do-you-change-the-entire-economy thing.’ So said Saikat Chakrabarti, former chief of staff for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and generally acknowledged author of the Green New Deal.

Sometimes it is wise to find out what ideas’ originators actually think. That is true for documents that have lit up our lives, such as the US Constitution, as well as for those that have darkened them, such as Mein Kampf.

 

There's More Than One Way To Destroy An Economy!

This is true as well for the nascent Green New Deal, which President Joe Biden has essentially adopted as his own. Even if Congress fails to pass it entirely, Biden will seek to impose many of its goals through administrative diktats on gas-powered cars, land use, airplanes, any form of fossil fuel and nuclear power. Green New Dealers will also extend the welfare state, including to those who choose not to work.

As Chakrabarti indicated, the Green New Deal is not another environmental ameliorative, but something far more fundamentally transformative. The Biden administration’s embrace of it is somewhat surprising given that the likely economic fallout of this plan – particularly for the working class – made both Biden and House speaker Nancy Pelosi distance themselves from it during the fall campaign. But now the Green New Deal has resurfaced, having made the metamorphosis from a leftist fantasy into a serious political initiative.

Remarkably, despite this record of distortion, climate hysteria has become the abiding faith of the dominant media, universities and a large swath of the corporate establishment, particularly on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley. Some have even embraced the hardly capitalist notion of degrowth, an ideology which suggests, in essence, the Western working and middle classes must sacrifice comfort and aspiration to save the planet. (Often at the urging of the world’s wealthiest people, with their grand estates and private jets!)

Although most industrial unions backed Biden, the first clear victims of his embrace of the Green New Deal are obvious: people working in energy and fields that depend on reliable and affordable energy, such as oil workers, truck drivers, factory and logistics workers. For example, a move to ban fracking – which vice-president Kamala Harris has supported – would, according to a US Chamber of Commerce report, cost several million jobs. This will be made much worse by the green turn against nuclear power and natural gas, notes long-time environmentalist Ted Nordhaus.

Under the Green New Deal, displaced workers will be placed on the dole, or encouraged to take a job in the ‘green economy’. Yet these jobs, notes a recent Building Trades Union study, pay far worse, and are less likely to last long or be unionised, than those in the conventional energy industry. ‘It’s pie-in-the-sky bullshit about these green jobs being good middle-class jobs, because they’re not’, said Terry O’Sullivan, general president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, in conversation with Politico. ‘I’m concerned about union members and union families being left behind… and I think they’ve already been left behind.’”

 

So What Is The Real Plan?

Why do they want to do these horrible things to us? It’s part of the same plan as the deadly Covid vaccines to kill a large part of the world’s population and control what remains. Gary Barnett offers a good summary of their agenda:

“As of late, and after a global assault on humanity that is unmatched in history, expansion of the ‘reset’ (takeover) of society is ramping up to epoch proportions. With this will come an onslaught of claimed monsters to frighten the masses into even more panic; the leading one before and after the ‘Covid’ hoax is complete, will likely remain the ridiculously named fraud called man-made ‘climate change.’  In fact, this has already begun, but will vastly escalate over the next few months and beyond in my opinion. At some point, ‘climate change’ will likely be disclosed as the core issue at hand so far as those wishing to gain total control of the masses are concerned, replacing in importance in effect, the other fraudulent tools of tyranny such as ‘virus pandemics,’ but not eliminating them as part of the conspiracy of depopulation and control.

This scenario has been planned and played out for decades, but is now getting into a very advanced stage in this plot to alter life as we have known it; relegating humanity to a two-tiered societal shift that consists of a controlling class sometimes referred to as the global ‘elites,’ and a slave class made up of the masses. This is meant to culminate with the master class of claimed elites imposing a technocratic hierarchy so extreme as to eliminate freedom of the individual entirely. To accomplish this, it is required that collectivism of the majority be the prevailing manner of ‘thought’ and politics, and that individuality be destroyed in favor of a communistic approach. So describes the postmodern mindset that has consumed the so-called intellectual left for some time, but unfortunately, it is not specific or unique to just the left today, but filters into the thinking of the ruling class of all political levels of thought. Therefore, the façade of right and left being political opposites is exposed as a lie, but this truth is generally avoided at all cost, and this attitude allows for radical totalitarian policies to flourish. Hence, critical thinking, truth, honesty, logic, and reason, disappear from view to be replaced by mass ignorance and indifference. Because of this great paradigm shift in societal reality, we are left to either fend off at all costs this assault by the state, or simply accept our slavery voluntarily.

In the midst of ‘Covid’ insanity, the agenda of ‘climate change’ is first and foremost on the minds of the globalists. In fact, this fake pandemic is being used (as purposely planned) to advance that agenda, and as stated by Klaus Schwab and the World Economic Forum: ‘Climate action must stay top of the global agenda as we emerge from COVID-19.’ According to these monsters, ‘climate change’ is the real threat, and this ‘pandemic’ is ‘laying the groundwork for the efforts required to tackle climate change.’ In addition, the climate and ‘Covid-19’ are considered to be completely interconnected and a convergence of crises.

The United Nations is parroting this same line of propaganda in saying that in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, our challenges are interconnected and can only be addressed through reinvigorated multilateralism with the UN at the center of our efforts. They have pledged to strengthen global governance for the sake of present and coming generations. The UN’s Secretary General stated that: “The Covid-19 pandemic has served as a wake-up call and with the climate crisis now looming, the world is experiencing its biggest shared test since the Second world War.”

The fraudulent ‘virus pandemic’ has led the way to the future’s real and most major agenda being sought by the globalists, which is climate change legislation and mandated climate policy used to destroy the economic and monetary systems, to destroy farming and agriculture, to eliminate the individual, and to reshape the world into a complete technocratically controlled global society that will solidify the completion of the 2030 Agenda.

 

It's Up To Us…

While this may seem like the end of the so-called crisis to some, it is only the beginning of hell on earth. The next few months will tell the tale, as every manner of tyranny possible will be attempted, and the citizens responses to this assault on humanity will be gauged in order to see just how far and how fast this takeover plot can be driven.”

I am an optimist. I believe the American people will awaken to the danger and oust these monsters before it’s too late. But it all depends on you.

 

New Opportunities Are Emerging For Citizens of The World.

Freedom and democracy may appear to be struggling to stay alive in America, but there may be a knock-out punch ready to be released. The evolution of the blockchain-enabled metaverse is going to enable the 'Citizens of the World' to gain their own Freedom by democratizing power and creating a new world with new rules, new players, and new opportunities. For 99.99% of us, the metaverse will improve our real-world lives through the democratization of power and opportunity.

Along with the major long-term trend of society towards decentralization and smaller-scale organizations, there are new opportunities developing to help 'Preparers' in the cryptocurrency sector. Businesses are beginning to issue their own Crypto Coins that can be traded on Cryptocoin Exchanges.

Markethive.com for example will be releasing its HiveCoin (HIV) in the coming weeks. It has tremendous upside potential that is outlined in a Video by Founder Tom Prendergast, "Entrepreneur Advantage…".

Not only that, if you go to their website and register as a FREE Member, you will be given 500 HiveCoins for "FREE" along with access to several Earning Opportunities and online tools to increase your HiveCoin balance.

Be sure to check it out today – Markethive.com

Markethive

Tim Moseley

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How long the recession will last and how it will affect gold and silver

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How long the recession will last and how it will affect gold and silver

With the US Economy probably shrinking for the second consecutive quarter, the United States likely is now in a recession. CPM Group's Jeffrey Christian looks at some of the previous recessions to discuss how long this one may last, CPM Group's Economic Outlook, and what effect this all may have on Gold, Silver, Platinum, and Palladium.

By CPM Group

Contributing to kitco.com

Time to buy Gold and Silver on the dips

Tim Moseley

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Report Reveals Market’s Pain In First Half Of 2022 Some Crypto Ecosystems Continue To Thrive

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Report Reveals Market’s Pain In First Half Of 2022. Some Crypto Ecosystems Continue To Thrive

The first half of 2022 was painful for the crypto market. This is mainly because of the events during the second quarter, such as Terra’s collapse and Three Arrows Capital’s insolvency. A recent report produced by the popular crypto price-tracking site Coin Gecko has examined precisely what happened during this chaotic second quarter and how it could affect cryptocurrency in the remaining half of this year. 

The following is some background about this report, summarizing what it says in simple terms and what it could mean for the crypto market going forward. 

The report begins with a note from Coin Geckos founders where they talked about how crypto lost more than half of its market cap during Q2 and how this was due to a combination of macro factors and Terra’s collapse. The founders also mention Three Arrows Capital and how its insolvency took down crypto platforms exposed to it, like Voyager Digital, and noted the gradual decline in the NFT market.

On a more positive note, the founders point out that many crypto ecosystems continue to thrive, despite the bear market. They note that most of the leverage has been flushed out by the recent crashes and that many crypto companies and projects, including Coin Gecko, continue to operate as usual. 

The Market Landscape

The first part of the report provides an overview of the crypto market. As mentioned in the report’s introduction, crypto lost nearly 56% of its market cap during the second quarter of this year and was 70% down from its November highs. Interestingly, trading volume during the second quarter was essentially the same as the first quarter, suggesting the same pool of traders and investors has stuck around since that time. 

The authors then turn to the market dominance of the top 30 cryptocurrencies. Market dominance refers to how much of the total market cap comes from a single cryptocurrency. BTC’s dominance remains the same, while Ethereum fell significantly in June. 

ETH’s decline may have something to do with the news that Ethereum developers had delayed Ethereum's “difficulty bomb,” which was interpreted by ETH investors as a sign that Ethereum’s merge to proof of stake was also delayed.

Another noteworthy thing in the report was that Bitfinex’s exchange token, Leo, was the only cryptocurrency that didn't end up in the red during the second quarter of this year. Some exchange tokens such as Binance have seen exponential growth, particularly in the last bull market. 

Because of token utility and perks that exchanges can offer traders, and because they use trading fees to buy back and burn their native tokens, often causing their prices to rise artificially, they’re holding their own in the current bear market. 

In the matter of the market cap of stablecoins, nearly $39 billion were lost as a result of Terra’s collapse. Tether’s USDT lost 20% of its market cap, with circle’s USDC picking up most of the slack. The report suggests that this is evidence that investors were cashing out of crypto completely during Q2. 

The analysts found that the top 30 cryptocurrencies by market cap strongly correlate to the S&P 500 stock index, stating that the correlation was high at 0.92, which increased from 0.72 in Q1 of 2021. They highlight that crypto assets’ correlation with traditional markets is not surprising given the perceived risky nature and suggest that stocks were the primary drivers of crypto prices in Q2. 

The authors provide an infographic of a timeline of the significant events in crypto during the second quarter of this year and include many important milestones for crypto. Such as Solana NFT launch, STEPN banned in China, Harmony Bridge hack, Grayscale’s ETF application denied by the SEC, Coinbase added to Fortune 500, and so on. 

Bitcoin Analysis

The second part of the report provides an analysis of Bitcoin that shows how BTC briefly fell below its previous bull market top of 20K in June. It recorded nine consecutive weeks of being in the red. Notably, the broader equity market also fell at the same time, which dragged Bitcoin along with it. 

Meanwhile, Bitcoin's hash rate only continues to climb and even managed to set an all-time high on June 8th of this year, despite the downward trend. For those who don't know, Bitcoin’s hash rate measures how much computing power is connected to the Bitcoin blockchain. 

Bitcoin vs. Major Asset Classes

When comparing BTC to other major assets, the authors found that the only ones that saw any gains were oil and the US dollar. In comparison to the Q2 of 2021 return of oil at 22% and USD at -1% rose by 7% during Q2. The possible reasons are the current constricted oil supply and rising interest rates. It might also have something to do with the US dollar being backed by oil.

Interestingly, Bitcoin has simulated the behavior of US equities dipping in unison whenever the Federal Reserve announced a rate hike. The report states that the correlation between Bitcoin and other equities has been on an upward trend as the year progresses. Whether this trend will capitulate as we enter a recession has yet to be determined.

Ethereum Analysis

The third part of the report analyzes Ethereum and starts with an even scarier chart that shows how ETH fell by nearly 70% during Q2. The authors attribute this crash to Lido finance’s staked ETH token, notably its use in Terra’s now-defunct anchor protocol. Also, its use by alien crypto platforms like Celsius and its exposure to failed hedge funds, like Three Arrows Capital. 

Next, the authors provide an updated timeline for Ethereum, transitioning from proof of work to proof of stake, which is already a bit outdated but puts the merge in Q3 this year, which is technically correct. 

Interestingly, the authors found that the amount of ETH staked on Ethereum’s Beacon chain peaked at around 11% of ETH's total Supply. The authors also note that Lido Finance remains ETH's most significant single staker at over 32%. Then the authors show how much lido Finance’s staked ETH token deviated from its peg relative to ETH. But it's important to note that the peg was quickly restored after Ethereum developers confirmed a tentative date for the merge. 

The Aftermath Of Terra’s Collapse

The fourth part of the report provides some perspective on Terra’s collapse. It starts with UST’s disastrous de-pegging from $1 to $0. It had a $1.8 billion market cap at its peak and fell to a mere $807 million at the end of June. The de-pegging event resulted in a 99% drop in value, with UST hitting lows of $0.007 since rebounding to $0.05.  

The report referenced Jump Crypto, a crypto trading and VC firm heavily involved in the Terra ecosystem and rumored to have lost a lot of money defending UST’s peg. 

The UST de-pegging had a domino effect causing LUNA’s painful implosion from $120 down to zero. The authors also note that LUNA’s supply increased by a whopping 1.9 million% before Terra’s validators turned off the mint and burn mechanism.  

The report shows a detailed timeline of Terra’s collapse, but interestingly, it doesn’t mention the alleged attack on the 4pool on Curve Finance that occurred after the Terra team withdrew UST liquidity, the exact timing of which was not publicly known. 

Investigations by on-chain analytics platforms such as Chain Analysis suggest that this alleged attack caused UST's initial de-pegging. This is something that each subsequent investigation found was exacerbated by Celsius withdrawing massive amounts of UST from the Anchor Protocol out of caution. 

The authors of this crypto report seem to blame Terra’s collapse on the broader crypto market conditions, which also played a role. 

More Domino Effects 

The report displays an excellent infographic about the second-order effects of Terra’s collapse. On the left side, you have all the institutions which invested in Terra, including Jump Crypto. On the top left are the crypto projects and platforms exposed to Terra, such as Celsius. And on the bottom left are all the different stablecoins that were de-pegged. 

The right side shows Three Arrows Capital which was, of course, exposed to Terra, and on the top are all the different crypto projects and platforms exposed to 3AC. On the bottom right, you have all the crypto companies exposed to 3AC. The authors then provide more details about how Celsius, BlockFi, and Voyager Digital were affected by Terra's collapse and 3AC’s insolvency. 


 

Defi Analysis

The fifth part of the report analyzes the decentralized finance ecosystem. It starts with another unsurprising chart showing how the total Defi market cap fell by nearly 75% during the second quarter of this year, a crash mainly caused by Terra’s collapse. 

However, they don’t state which cryptos they count as part of their Defi market cap measure, but the silver lining to this gloomy statistic is that Defi managed to retain most of its users, with a decline of only a third. It stated there were multiple instances in Q2 where the need for Defi truly shined. 

What's fascinating is that the authors found that users flocked to decentralized exchanges when centralized exchanges were having issues with LUNA and UST. And users flocked to Defi protocols after Celsius paused withdrawals. In both events, where centralized entities failed, users have converged to enjoy Defi’s permissionless nature. 

They then reveal the different Defi categories, their share of the Defi market, and how much they dropped during Q2. Unfortunately, the authors don't provide specifics about individual Defi projects. The main takeaway seems to be that DEX's are the most significant slice of the Defi pie at 44%. 

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) Analysis 

The sixth part of the report provides an analysis of the NFT ecosystem, and it starts by shedding the spotlight on the massive decline in NFT trading volume since the start of the year.

The authors note that Solana, the latest contender to challenge Ethereum for the NFT crown, and BNB are becoming popular NFT chains because of STEPN; however, China’s ban on STEPN may put a dent into BNB’s numbers. 

The authors found that even though OpenSea is still the biggest NFT marketplace by trading volume, its dominance is declining due to new competitors like Magic Eden, an NFT marketplace on Solana. 

Some would argue that OpenSea’s decline is less due to competition and more due to the platform's controversial actions, such as freezing NFTs and blocking users in sanctioned countries. 

Regarding NFT trends, the authors believe that NFT investors are moving away from move-to-earn and silly NFTs with no utility and moving towards NFT profile pictures and NFTs that are actual art like those found on art blocks. 

This part of the report concludes by focusing on Solana's NFT ecosystem stating that OpenSea and Magic Eden have forged a gateway into the Solana ecosystem. They noted that despite the NFT market’s decline due to bearish macroeconomic conditions, Solana has been chipping away at Ethereum’s NFT Market share. 

Crypto Exchanges In A Sweet Spot

The seventh part of the report provides an analysis of cryptocurrency exchanges. It starts with a surprising statistic: trading volumes on centralized and decentralized exchanges only fell by 11% during Q2. The authors note that centralized exchanges are beginning to increase their dominance despite all the risks associated with centralized crypto platforms. 

This could be because traders and investors are using centralized exchanges to cash out. Alternatively, this increase in dominance could be coming from the fact that some exchanges like Binance recently slashed trading fees, which would explain why Binance's dominance increased significantly during Q2. 

FTX's dominance also doubled during this period, but the authors note that “no one can compete with Binance as they have grown their market share to capture almost 50% of the entire market.” 

By contrast, OKX and Crypto.com’s dominance decreased by 50% each. The authors note that Uniswap dominates the DEX market accounting for 60% of total DEX trading volume. They also note that Curve Finance’s trading volume increased significantly during Q2, likely due to both collapsed USTC pools and the flight to stablecoins. Curve Finance is a stablecoin DEX. 

Also, DEXs on Solana and BNB have increased or maintained their market share, signifying actual market activity on chains other than Ethereum. 

Traders’ Shy Away From Speculation

The authors examine derivatives such as Futures Trading, which involves speculating on the future price of a particular coin or token, often with leverage, in other words, debt. They look at funding rates which is how much money traders put down to cover their long or short positions. 

Interestingly, they note that crypto's recent choppy price action has put traders off from speculation, leading to more conservative stances on Bitcoin's direction, which is good news for crypto market volatility. 

The authors end the report by examining the assets under management for Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust and the Proshares Bitcoin Futures ETF, which was approved in October last year. 

The authors note that the assets under management for both institutional investment vehicles collapsed by more than 50% alongside BTC’s price, which isn't surprising. They also note that the GBTC discount fell below 30% after the SEC rejected Grayscale’s Spot Bitcoin ETF application. 

What Does This Mean For Crypto?

So the big question is, what do the findings of this report mean for the crypto market? If cryptos' current price action didn't make it clear enough, the massive purge we saw in Q2 has set the stage for a severe recovery rally, which we’re in, arguably. 

However, it's only a matter of time before the markets realize that all the macro factors which caused the recent crypto crashes haven't been resolved, and this could take crypto to new lows. 

You could argue that crypto hasn't seen peak capitulation, not just because many institutional investors like Kevin O'Leary believe that we haven't seen total panic yet. The millionaire investor says, “crypto markets need to hit total panic before revival.”

O'Leary thinks that the market bottom will be marked by “total panic,” at which point weak companies with “idiot managers” will be weeded out, and the industry can continue to grow. He added,

“It’s unfortunate that these companies have gone to zero, but you end up with much stronger species.”

It’s also indicated in the report that although crypto prices have taken a beating, the number of daily defi users has remained relatively stable by comparison. Also, trading volumes have barely budged, and Bitcoin’s hash rate continued to climb even while BTC’s price crashed. 

If what we saw over the last half year had indeed been the market bottom, then it stands to reason that all these metrics would have fallen by much more. For example, the Bitcoin hash rate fell by nearly 50% in previous bear markets but was only 10% off the most recent hash rate highs. 

Not only that, but consider that only two entities exposed to Terra and Three Arrows Capital have collapsed. As the infographic shows, there were nearly two dozen exposed entities, and we're still getting news about some of these running into serious trouble. And that’s apart from all the cryptos that 3AC could soon sell. 

If you're wondering when the current recovery rally could end, some posit mid to late September, when Ethereum’s merge is expected to occur. It’s also when the Federal Reserve will return from its summer holiday with what's likely to be a fresh rate hike to fight inflation. 

Cointelegraph points out that the current ETH rally could be a bull trap with the macroeconomic clouds darkening. A bull trap indicates that a declining trend in a crypto asset has reversed and is heading upward when it will actually continue downward.

With Autumn nearing in many parts of the world, people could start to face skyrocketing energy costs in anticipation of oil and gas shortages over the winter, something that would almost certainly damage assets across the board, such as oil, gas, and the US dollar. 

It’s still risky days ahead given the macroeconomic factors at play, so hang on to your hats and brave the storm. As the saying goes, “No pain, No gain.” The one constant is change, and I believe all these factors are contributing to a more robust, healthier cryptocurrency industry where genuine projects and communities will flourish. 

 

 

Editor and Chief Markethive: Deb Williams. (Australia) I thrive on progress and champion freedom of speech. I embrace "Change" with a passion, and my purpose in life is to enlighten people to accept and move forward with enthusiasm. Find me at my Markethive Profile Page | My Twitter Account | and my LinkedIn Profile.

 

 

 

 

 

This information is provided for informational purposes only. Nothing herein shall be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice.

 

 

Tim Moseley

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Gold prices holding above 1750 as core PCE inflation rises 48 in June

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Gold prices holding above $1,750 as core PCE inflation rises 4.8% in June

The gold market is holding on to solid gains has inflation pressures continue to rise more than expected.

On a monthly basis, the core Personal Consumption Expenditures price index increased 0.6% last month, the U.S. Department of Commerce said on Friday. The inflation data was hotter than expected as consensus forecasts were calling for a 0.5% rise.

On an annual basis, core PCE increased 4.8%, up from last month’s reading at 4.7%.

The core inflation strips out volatile food and energy prices and is the U.S. central bank's preferred inflation measure.

Meanwhile, headline inflation also rose more than expected, increasing 1.0%, up from May’s increase of 0.6%. For the year inflation jumped to 6.8%, up from May’s reading of 6.3%. Inflation continues to hold near its highest level in 40 years.

The gold market is not seeing much reaction to the latest inflation data as it holds most of its recent gains above $1,750 an ounce. August gold futures last traded at $1,755.60 an ounce, up 0.30% on the day.

Analysts have said that the latest inflation data is a doubled edged sword for the gold market. The latest data shows that inflation remains persistently high; however, it could force the Federal Reserve to continue to aggressively raise interest rates longer than markets currently expect.

However, some analysts note that with two months before the next Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting, gold has room to move higher as expectations remain that inflation will start to cool, giving the central bank room to slow the pace of its rate hikes through the end of the year.

Along with the stronger than expected inflation data. The report also showed that solid consumption and income growth.

Consumer spending last month increased 1.1%, up from 0.2% in May. Economists were expecting to see a 0.9% increase.

At the same time, income rose 0.6%, up from 0.5% in May. Consensus forecasts called for a 0.5% increase.

By Neils Christensen

For Kitco News

Time to buy Gold and Silver on the dips

Tim Moseley

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Silver surges 745 gold gains 207 and precious metals participants rejoice

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Silver surges 7.45%, gold gains 2.07%, and precious metals participants rejoice

While gold and silver traders are not dancing in the streets, they are quietly rejoicing. Their assumptions, knowledge, and expectations that both gold and silver have been oversold and undervalued were greatly rewarded today. Goods and service prices continue to become more costly and the fact that the Federal Reserve's four consecutive rate hikes have made only a fractional difference in "core" inflation is a strong confirmation that the Federal Reserve is ineffective in reducing inflation to its target level of 2%.

However, when it comes to "headline" inflation which adds the costs of energy, food, and shelter into the equation the net result of their monetary policy has had zero impact with inflation continuing to spiral to higher levels.

Since March the Federal Reserve has raised its Fed funds rate by 2.25% leading to only one major accomplishment if you can call it that. They have effectively contracted the U.S. economy for the last two consecutive quarters. Consumer spending is now growing at the slowest pace in two years as business expenditures decline. Whatever spin government officials put on today's second quarter GDP report the facts speak for themselves.

If I could convey the current economic environment better than Reuters News I would, however, it is the most eloquent description of our current economic environment.

"U.S. teetering on brink of recession as GDP contracts in second quarter,"

The headline above is based upon the following facts; first, second quarter GDP decreased by 0.9%. Secondly, inventories account for a large decline in GDP. Lastly, consumer spending has slowed and business investment has contracted.

The Oxford language dictionary defines a recession as "a period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are reduced, generally identified by a fall in GDP in two successive quarters. The country is in the depths of a recession."

It is emphatically clear that the United States economy has met the definition of a recession regardless of what the government wants us to believe. Therefore today's extremely robust move in both gold and silver are highly warranted and long overdue.

As of 5:15 PM, EDT August gold futures are currently up $34.30 which is a net gain of 2%. The December contract which will soon become the most active futures contract and is currently up $35.50 and fixed at $1773.30.

However, it was silver that outshined the precious metals complex today rising by 7.45% with the September futures contract currently up $1.385 and fixed at $19.98.

Over the last month, our daily articles have assumed that gold prices were extremely undervalued and oversold. More so, we identified a key price point at $1680 which we believed had a realistic probability to define a major support level in which a key reversal could take place. Because of that assumption we made a recommendation to our premium subscribers on July 14 to enter an order to buy August gold at $1681 or better. On July 21 gold traded to a low of $1678.60 allowing our open order to be executed. Today we recommended closing the trade out and our effective exit price was just above $1745.

For weeks before gold traded below $1700, we informed our readers at Kitco in our "After Hours" column that $1680 was a major level of support giving them not only the opportunity but the time to act upon that assumption.

 

By Gary Wagner

Contributing to kitco.com

Time to buy Gold and Silver on the dips

 

Tim Moseley

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The CHIPS Act Is Setting a New Stage for EVs

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The CHIPS Act Is Setting a New Stage for EVs

by Jason Bodner, editor, Outlier Investor

I was chatting with an old friend of mine earlier this week. He started a company called Stray Dogs Classics.

With chip shortages making new cars hard to get your hands on and used car prices up even higher than new (percentage-wise), he found an opportunity.

He has been importing classic Land Rovers into the U.S. And they’ve been selling like hot cakes. These rovers look like – and are – classic safari vehicles.

1994 Land Rover Discovery 1 300TDI

The CHIPS Act Is Setting a New Stage for EVs

Source: Stray Dog Classics

The cars are reliable as hell… and don’t have a single semiconductor in them.

This is just one example of how the chip shortages are putting a strain on the U.S. auto industry. People are now turning to companies like Stray Dogs for a solution.

And that’s not all… I was helping my mother-in-law shop for a new car last week, and we stumbled across the Audi dealership.

So many of those Audis were beautiful, with leather seats, touch screen displays, and so forth.

But we kept noticing they didn’t have power seats or any of the lane assistance technology we see in commercials.

Audi’s solution to the semiconductor shortage was to cut those “bonus” features – in exchange for a $2,000 dealer credit to make up for not having the options.

These are just two anecdotes to show how the chip shortages are still causing issues for the auto industry.

The good news is, this might not be a problem for much longer.

 

More Semiconductors Are Coming Soon

Yesterday, the Senate passed the CHIPS (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America) Act of 2022. This $280 billion bill will boost the semiconductor industry in a number of ways.

The bill now heads to the House and – assuming it passes there as well – will promptly land on Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.

The CHIPS Act will provide $39 billion for semiconductor manufacturing expansion within the U.S. Another $10 billion is marked for semiconductor research.

This also includes $24 billion in tax credits until 2026 for companies’ investments in the semiconductor manufacturing space.

Overall, the bill aims to spur on the production and innovation in this very critical technology.

And with the CHIPS bill boosting the U.S. semiconductor industry, we might just see a turnaround in the auto industry sooner than expected.

And it’s not a moment too late…

 

More Chips Will Add Fuel to the EV Boom

The auto industry desperately needs more semiconductors… especially because we just hit an important milestone.

The U.S. electric vehicle (EV) market just surpassed 5% of new vehicle sales this year.

Crossing this 5% threshold is an important feat. Historically, tech analysts use the 5% threshold as a signal that mass adoption of a new technology is beginning.

Analysts look at this as the period when consumers’ technological preferences begin to rapidly shift. It’s the point when early adopters of the tech are overtaken by mainstream demand.

Before this threshold, sales, demand, and growth are unpredictable. Afterward, adoption and demand rapidly accelerate.

Infrastructure begins going into place. In this case, necessary equipment like charging stations become more common, and vehicle costs decrease.

If the U.S. follows the same pattern as 18 other countries that have already hit this 5% threshold, then we should expect 25% of new car sales to be EVs by 2025.

That might sound like a crazy number of EVs. But green initiatives and high prices at the gas pump are pushing demand for EVs higher than ever before.

And the EV industry is putting immense pressure on chip makers to produce more. We’re not just talking about EV giants like Tesla either. Ford, Chevy, GM, Toyota, Honda, VW, Hyundai, and more all have EVs out now or in the pipeline.

And now with the CHIPS Act making its way through legislative channels, we might see an end to the semiconductor shortage… and the biggest EV boom in history.

 

How to Capitalize

We have an incredible opportunity to invest in an industry that’s been beaten down for the last year. The semiconductor industry has suffered downgrades, neon shortages from the war in Ukraine, and supply chain pinches.

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF tracks the performance of the semiconductor industry, and it’s down 27% in 2022 alone.

That means the VanEck Semiconductor ETF is priced at a huge discount right now.

VanEck tracks the top 25 companies in the semiconductor industry. And it holds names such as Intel (INTC), NVIDIA (NVDA), Broadcom (AVGO), and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM).

These companies are developing new manufacturing facilities to meet increasing world demand. And most are even setting up new shops right here in the U.S.

And as the EV boom really gets underway, these companies are going to see more demand than ever before in the coming years. That’s a big tailwind…

Growth is right around the corner for a number of these companies and the overall semiconductor industry… which means savvy investors should consider adding at least a small position to this sector in the near future before things really take off.

 

New Opportunities Are Emerging For Citizens of The World.

Freedom and democracy may appear to be struggling to stay alive in America, but there may be a knock-out punch ready to be released. The evolution of the blockchain-enabled metaverse is going to enable the 'Citizens of the World' to gain their own Freedom by democratizing power and creating a new world with new rules, new players, and new opportunities. For 99.99% of us, the metaverse will improve our real-world lives through the democratization of power and opportunity.

Along with the major long-term trend of society towards decentralization and smaller-scale organizations, there are new opportunities developing to help 'Preparers' in the cryptocurrency sector. Businesses are beginning to issue their own Crypto Coins that can be traded on Cryptocoin Exchanges.

Markethive.com for example will be releasing its HiveCoin (HIV) in the coming weeks. It has tremendous upside potential that is outlined in a Video by Founder Tom Prendergast, "Entrepreneur Advantage…".

Not only that, if you go to their website and register as a FREE Member, you will be given 500 HiveCoins for "FREE" along with access to several Earning Opportunities and online tools to increase your HiveCoin balance.

Be sure to check it out today – Markethive.com

Markethive

Tim Moseley

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Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Mining 2023 Forecast amp Predictions

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Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Mining 2023 Forecast & Predictions

Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Mining 2023 Forecast Predictions

If you are looking for a cryptocurrency and want to know if it will grow in value in the coming years, then you are at the right place. Bitcoin is an open source, borderless form of transactional currency that defies the central government's control. Despite this fact, Bitcoin has been called the world's most popular cryptocurrency, and the future for it seems bright.

Bitcoin is a borderless transactional currency

A decentralized world will have greater outcomes for users. While decentralization has affected the biggest industries in the world, cryptocurrency is leading the charge. Blockchain technology provides solutions for cross-border transactions while providing transparent and immutable data. The transition to a borderless world is fast underway. Blockchain is transforming the retail industry, making it easier for individuals to use. In addition, the blockchain is becoming a retail movement, making it easier for individuals to use cryptocurrency.

Traditional borderless payments require a network of intermediaries – often banks and financial institutions – to facilitate the transaction. Then, the recipient must wait anywhere from one to five days for the transaction to settle. Even then, banks and other intermediaries take a cut of the transaction. By contrast, peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchanges remove intermediaries and record all transactions in a blockchain, eliminating these middlemen and facilitating borderless payments.

It is a store of value

The idea that Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining is a store of values has gained ground in recent years, with more people buying and holding Bitcoin. But is the idea really accurate? This article explores the pros, and cons of the store-of-value meme, as well as some key arguments on both sides of the debate. After all, what's a store of value if no one is willing to exchange it for something of equal or lesser value?

There are many arguments in favor of cryptocurrency as a store of value. First, because it's decentralized and purely digital, it is difficult to seize. It is also trivially easy to carry around. That makes it an excellent choice for storing value, without the risk of third parties. With fiat and gold, you always run the risk of your bank defaulting, or your vault being closed down, so having Bitcoin on hand can give you peace of mind.

It is a currency that refuses to bow to central government pressures

In the near future, we can expect the Federal Reserve to continue its "tightening monetary policy," insisting on a pause in inflation until 2023. In fact, the United States will be challenging with inflation for many years to come, as the federal debt continues to grow at an alarming rate. As policymakers wrestle with protecting Americans from inflation while continuing to fund deficit spending, they will be faced with the Solomonic dilemma. Bitcoin's resistance to central government pressure will become even more apparent.

It is seen as the most popular cryptocurrency in the world

Blockchain technology has enabled the use of cryptocurrencies to transfer value between individuals and businesses without the use of middlemen. These cryptocurrencies are now accepted across the globe without the use of a central bank and are free to move from country to country. Cryptocurrencies are not governed by a government, instead, they are controlled by peer-to-peer networks of computers that run free open-source software. Anyone can join these networks.

Although other cryptocurrencies are emerging, Bitcoin has continued to gain popularity with investors. Among the other cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin has been around longer and has the highest market cap. Market cap is based on circulating supply and current price and is a good measure of a currency's risk. High market caps are considered more secure than low circulating supply numbers, and many people believe Bitcoin is the best choice for investors.

It is seen as the most popular altcoin in the world

During Wednesday's sell-off, Gen Z started referring to bitcoin as the "boomer coin." Although the first cryptocurrency to launch, bitcoin is now the largest by market value, it is still seen by many as a store of value. That popularity has led to the rise of a plethora of altcoins, including dogecoin, which was initially designed as a joke.

There are a few different altcoins in the world, but Bitcoin is the clear leader in the crypto market. The crypto that launched first was Bitcoin, a pseudonym used by an unknown group or individual. However, the currency has since grown to be worth $1.2 trillion. Although some specific cryptocurrencies trade at higher volumes than others, overall market capitalisation keeps them in the top ten.

Tim Moseley

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Is Bitcoin Worth the Hype?

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Is Bitcoin Worth the Hype?

Bitcoin

If you've ever wondered what Bitcoin is, you're not alone. This decentralized digital currency is not issued by a central bank, and as a result, its technical rules are still in flux. Its primary purpose is black market transactions, but is it worth the hype? Read on to learn more. You can also start a Bitcoin investment if you'd like to try your hand at it for yourself. But remember, before you go all in, there are a few things you should know.

Bitcoin is a digital currency

If you've been following the recent news, you may have heard of bitcoin, the first digital currency. Bitcoin was first introduced in 2009 by a mysterious individual or group known only as Satoshi Nakamoto. Although the identity of the creator remains unknown, there's little doubt that he invented the currency in order to create a worldwide electronic payment system. While the purpose of bitcoin is unclear, it's generally accepted as a form of currency by companies and individuals, including PayPal. Even the country of El Salvador has accepted bitcoin as its currency.

The price of bitcoin fluctuates based on supply and demand. As there is no central authority to control supply, the price of bitcoins is dependent on demand at a given time. Bitcoins do not have a fixed value, and its price is subject to speculation and manipulation. It has made billionaires including the creator of bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. Other people who have made a fortune using bitcoins include the Winklevoss twins, who parlayed a $65 million payout from Facebook into a venture capital fund.

A new version of Bitcoin is on the way. The Bitcoin blockchain will soon be fully functional. This will allow you to purchase goods and services online without the need to worry about foreign exchange fees. You can use bitcoins to make payments anywhere in the world using the Internet. However, if you're looking for a safer, more private way to buy and sell digital currency, Bitcoin is probably the best choice. There are no central banks or governments regulating bitcoin, so you can be sure that your money is secure.

Bitcoin has received significant growth in recent years. In 2014, the first major retailer to accept Bitcoin was Overstock. It reached $20,000 before falling in value. In the early 2010s, the price of Bitcoin was nearly $20,000, but it lost half of that value after the COVID-19 virus. By 2021, it reached $60,000, and El Salvador has made it a legal tender. A Bitcoin address is a string of 33 characters that contains your balance and public address.

It is not issued by a central bank

Bitcoin is a digital currency that is not issued by a central bank. It was invented in 2009 by an anonymous programmer using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. In 2009, he published open-source software for the bitcoin network and a white paper explaining the technical design. Another example of a virtual currency is PokeCoin, which is used for in-game purchases in the popular Pokémon Go video game.

It is unregulated

There's a lot of confusion about whether Bitcoin is regulated or not. While it's true that the technology behind bitcoin has no government oversight, the peer-to-peer network has rules and regulations of its own. Moreover, it's not clear if these rules apply to individual users using bitcoin in commerce. In any case, it's better to follow existing regulations than break them. Listed below are some ways that bitcoin is regulated.

One advantage of bitcoin is its low or no-fee transactions. The fee structure is designed to support faster transactions. This is great for small businesses that don't want to spend a lot of money. However, small businesses shouldn't use bitcoin because of its lack of consumer protection laws. Even if a customer gets scammed, there's no recourse for them, since bitcoin transactions are irreversible. The price of bitcoin can rise and fall significantly in a short period of time.

A downside of bitcoin's unregulated nature is that it is vulnerable to manipulation. The Bank Secrecy Act requires all exchanges to comply with anti-money-laundering rules, which is crucial for the protection of consumers. While Bitcoin's unregulated nature makes it more vulnerable to manipulation, it's still widely used. Recent studies by Gandal et al. (2018) found that suspicious activity on Mt. Gox was associated with price fluctuations. Furthermore, a study by Griffin and Shams (2020) looked at intraday price dynamics to determine whether suspicious activity was associated with higher bitcoin prices.

Although Bitcoin is a controversial digital asset, the emergence of a regulated regulatory framework will bring more opportunities to lawyers, accountants, and financial advisers. As Bitcoin gains acceptance as a payment method, it is increasingly becoming more recognizable as a legitimate monetary system. Moreover, as more corporations adopt Bitcoin, the network of users is evolving, making it more secure and reliable. In the meantime, more corporations are revisiting their assumptions about the digital asset.

It is used for black-market transactions

The use of Bitcoin for illegal drug trade is widespread, and cryptocurrencies have made it possible for customers to conduct such transactions without incurring high transaction costs. One example of this type of activity is the Silk Road, which is an online black market for illicit drugs. The site uses only bitcoins to make transactions but previously prohibited the sale of harmful products such as guns. The Silk Road is saying to make around $2 million a month from drugs alone, and the site is accessible through the TOR network of computers.

While Bitcoin transactions are relatively anonymous, this anonymity is a big factor in attracting criminals to use it for illicit trade. This cryptocurrency was recently used in a recent attack on the Colonial Pipeline, a key gas line servicing the eastern U.S. The hackers demanded $4.4 million in Bitcoin in exchange for the pipeline's return, but the U.S. government was able to seize $2.3 million of the ransom.

It is a long-term investment

If you are thinking about investing in Bitcoin, you probably already have a general idea of what it is and what it does, but if you are just beginning to get into the world of cryptocurrency, you may be wondering if it is the right long-term investment. While it is true that there are no short-term guarantees, you can't go wrong by putting some money into Bitcoin and holding onto it for the long term. This type of investment is based on the blockchain technology, the basis of Bitcoin. While Blockchain is the most sought-after technology globally, it's only on paper, and will take years to be fully implemented into industries and be widely accepted by the general public. It also costs a lot of money to implement, which means that Bitcoin is only suitable for long-term investments.

According to a survey, the percentage of American investors who own Bitcoin has increased from 20% in 2020 to 26% in 2021, and most of them have decided to hold on rather than cut their position. This indicates that more investors are seeing Bitcoin as a long-term investment and a value-preserving asset. Furthermore, more than half of investors surveyed say they have invested in Bitcoin for the first time in the past year, and that the majority of those who have made this decision are still holding onto the currency.

Another key point to remember is that Bitcoin is a volatile asset, and that the value of a single coin can fluctuate dramatically within a short period of time. While investing in Bitcoin is not a short-term decision, it's a wise one if you plan to hold it for a long time. The upside of using Bitcoin for long-term investments is that you can generate a large profit from it. You can also use large purchases of Bitcoin to capitalize on a surge in price, and sell them for a higher value when there are many buyers around. If Bitcoin can be a popular asset in the future, you'll be able to earn a significant amount of profit by simply waiting for the price to climb.

Tim Moseley

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European Union And The Green Deal

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European Union And The Green Deal –  A Tall Order

 

The European Green Deal, approved in 2020, is a set of policy initiatives by the European Commission with the overarching aim of making the European Union (EU) climate neutral in 2050. An impact assessed plan will also be presented to increase the EU's greenhouse gas emission reduction target for 2030 to at least 50% and towards 55% compared with 1990 levels. The plan is to review each existing law on its climate merits and also introduce new legislation on the circular economy, building renovation, biodiversity, farming, and innovation.

There has been criticism of the deal not doing enough but also of potentially being destructive to the European Union in its current state. Former Romanian president, Traian Băsescu, has warned that the deal could lead some EU members to push toward an exit from the union. 

While some European states are on their way to eliminating the use of coal as a source of energy, many others still rely heavily on it. This scenario demonstrates how the deal may appeal to some states more than others. The economic impact of the deal is likely to be unevenly spread among EU states.

In addition, many groups such as “Greenpeace,” “Friends of the Earth Europe,” and the “Institute for European Environmental Policy” have all analyzed the policy and believe it isn't “ambitious enough.

The European Union is committed to becoming the first climate-neutral bloc in the world by 2050. This requires significant investment from both the EU and the national public sector, as well as the private sector.

 

Green Deal and the new political situation

But when the armoured conflict between Ukraine and Russia started, the analysts warned that the green deal for Europe, or the green deal in its current form, was over. Decarbonization will continue but on a much more rational and pragmatic floor plan. According to analysts, the emphasis will be much more on the greater self-sufficiency of the European Union in energy.

The supporters of the ambitious transformation dream about changing the EU into a fair and prosperous society with a modern and competitive economy. 

However, realistic economic experts do not see the situation and possibilities of European states rosy; some consider the whole plan completely unfeasible.

Over the coming years, one-third of all EU investment, amounting to EUR 1.8 trillion, is to be directed towards emission-free alternatives and resource efficiency.

 

Opinions of non-governmental economists

Former president of the Czech Republic Václav Klaus, who is one of the leading economic experts, criticizes the goals of the green deal. An advisor from his institute says:

"To subordinate to it the social and economic life of today? And for the sacrifice, which will undoubtedly mean a significant reduction in the standard of living. And it will certainly mean poverty for a part of society. For a part of society, this will also mean that they will probably not buy a car quite soon.“

This senseless plan obliged all  27 member states of the union to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. An ambitious plan and package of measures, the Green Deal, or the Green agreement for Europe, is intended to help achieve this. 

The partial goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990. Both European citizens and experts think the green deal is a naive communist idea.

EU insists on its goals

When the Russia-Ukraine conflict started, some experts said that the Green Deal was dead, but the European Union still insists on continuing its ambitious goals.

And yet a global experiment to limit all emissions, an experiment called covid, when the use of cars was very limited and production reduced, showed us that it had zero effect on global emissions. The whole green doom is a completely useless farce that solves nothing at all. It's more of a sham.

Some citizens of central Europe remember the referendum on joining the EU. When they confessed to their friends and family members that they were voting against entry, they looked at them like they were weirdos. They're saying today what a visionary they were!

Now they wonder where in the green deal those convoys of LNG tankers, which are supposed to supply the whole of Europe with gas, will be classified. If you add up the amount, it's an epic environmental disaster.

 

Greenhouse gas emissions per EU countries

According to the European Environment Agency, the EU was the world's third-biggest greenhouse gas emitter after China and the US in 2015.

Under the Paris agreement, the EU committed in 2015 to cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the EU by at least 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. In 2021, the target was changed to at least a 55% reduction by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050.

The EU is also working on achieving a circular economy by 2050, creating a sustainable food system, and protecting biodiversity and pollinators.

Despite all the efforts of the official representatives of the European Union, many politicians and economists have a different opinion. They think that it is absolutely necessary to be careful in expectations on the issue of the Green Deal.

The current energy and economic crisis were dealt with long before the current situation in Ukraine. Green deal ideas are appealing. Who among reasonable people would want to destroy their environment? 

However, the implementation is completely out of control, and the economic impact is already large. The ecological revolution wanted to overtake natural evolution and the free development of things.

 

Alternative opinions of experts

Some economic experts warn that the decline in living standards is inevitable as the rise in electricity and fuel prices overwhelms us. We can characterize the current period as a time of great uncertainty, a decline in living standards, unsettled finances, the refugee crisis from Ukraine, ever-increasing inflation, and fear of skyrocketing energy and food prices.

It is in the interest of Europe to avoid social storms. If they stopped and closed the gas taps, only an idealist would imagine that this would not cause riots.

The course of events lately resembles a collapsing domino. The war in Ukraine, anti-Russian sanctions, the shortage of oil and gas, and the rise in prices triggered a chain reaction. Worryingly, some of the cubes with subsequent domino-effect, we pick ourselves, or we have arranged them so that as many as possible fall.

 

A moment to consider our options

Reasonable people cannot think that the way is to ban internal combustion engines, to order everyone to do what they are supposed to do and pay for it by printing new money – what was promoted in the union as the green deal. This means huge amounts of money again will pour into the economy. 

Because making people drive electric cars, but because they're expensive, we're going to subsidize them. And we're going to subsidize them by printing new money that we're going to put on the market, which is going to cause inflation again to rise — that's not the way to go.

No technology has been introduced in such a way that its predecessors have been banned: that the emperor ban the use of steam engines to promote electricity, it has not been; that fixed telephone lines have been banned to promote mobile operators, it has not been; that floppy disks or CDs have been banned, it has not been. This is an ideology that completely destroys any rationality.

At such a moment, it is necessary to stand firmly on the ground and forget for a moment the romantic idea of dancing on meadows strewn with flowers, among solar panels, in the background with graceful propellers of wind farms. The crisis has shown us the need to build self-sufficiency, including energy.

Green deal = a new left-wing ideology of other Paradise-Builders on earth, which will not help anything, but someone will make huge money from it. As usual, anyway.

The West began to devour itself, destroying the roots on which it grew as a civilization. Under the flag of the green religion.

 

Sources:

European parliament news

Politico EU

E15.cz

Novinky.cz

About: Markéta Hálová. (Czech Republic) A crypto enthusiast, keen online marketer and passion for photography. I love interacting with the community of Entrepreneurs at Markethive. I believe in free speech, liberty, sovereignty for all. Find me at my Markethive Profile Page | My Twitter Account | and my LinkedIn Profile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tim Moseley

The Artist that came out of the Winter