During a Unitize panel on Monday, Balaji Srinivasan commented that COVID-19 has changed everything — and it could ultimately end up accelerating Blockchain adoption. Srinivasan is known for his numerous roles in the crypto space. He’s an angel investor, entrepreneur, former chief technology officer of Coinbase and a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz. He believes COVID-19 has made centralized governments more powerful than ever before and feels that government overstepping is causing people to seek new ways to maintain their fundamental rights. He speculates that this is where crypto and blockchain could play a big role in the future, adding: …

The sharing economy’s potential is massive, but firms in this burgeoning space often struggle to survive unless they have a sizeable war chest like Airbnb and Uber. Now, a new blockchain-based protocol says it is aiming to tear down unsustainably high barriers to entry that are stopping startups from flourishing. The TimeCoinProtocol provides a platform so that fledgling projects can build a sharing economy service. The team behind this new concept also believes it can solve some of the biggest challenges in the gig economy. Through the platform, users can sell “time tickets” — effectively tokenizing their business hours. These …

A digital Canadian dollar should imitate traditional banknotes in terms of availability and accessibility, according to staff from the country's central bank, the Bank of Canada. In an analytical note on June 30, experts from the Bank of Canada revealed some of the goals for its central bank digital currency (CBDC). Analytical notes are a product of staff and analysts at the bank, separate from the Governing Council, so they do not necessarily represent the opinion of the bank itself. The group of experts explained that the CBDC should imitate the features of regular bank notes. This means it must …

Sergei Guriev, professor of Economics at Paris’ Sciences Po and a critic of Vladimir Putin, told Cointelegraph how Bitcoin can be used as a tool to combat authoritarian regimes despite having “no fundamental social value.” Unlike fiat currencies, the purchasing power of Bitcoin is not backed by any institution. That is why, according to Guriev, “Bitcoin is a merely speculative instrument without any fundamental value.” He also pointed out that, unlike company stocks, Bitcoin does not produce or promise to produce cash flow. “Bitcoin is not producing anything of additional value,” he said. It’s value is “only contingent on all …

Chamath Palihapitiya, the billionaire CEO of Social Capital and Virgin Galactic Chairman, has called Bitcoin a type of disaster insurance against governments making bad financial decisions. In an interview with Unchained Podcast on June 23, Palihapitiya said hard-working people need something like Bitcoin as insurance, as the cryptocurrency is “really fundamentally uncorrelated” to the consequences of legislators behaving badly. However, the CEO pointed out that for the Bitcoin price to skyrocket at this point, things would have to go terribly wrong in the financial system, with disastrous impacts on your friends and family. “If your Bitcoin bet pays off,” Palihapitiya …

The South Korean government recently announced their intention to impose a tax on cryptocurrency, leading to backlash. Korean Yonsei University economist, Sung Tae-yoon, warned that the decision to tax crypto capital gains may slow the technology’s emerging market, according to Koreatimes on June 21. Sung said that taxing the crypto market while it is still in its infancy is a “premature” decision. He worries that tough regulations or taxation may prevent the crypto industry from flourishing in South Korea. He also believes: “Cryptocurrencies cannot be considered a universal asset like traditional paper currencies.” Reasons behind the act Opposition economists, such …

In order to reduce the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on business, Chinese governments at all levels have been coming up with different policies and solutions to help the economy survive. Nanjing, the capital of China eastern Jiangsu province, is one of the first cities in China to leverage blockchain technology and issue so-called “consumption vouchers” on the blockchain as a kind of crypto-driven stimulus package, according to a local news report on June 23. These vouchers are exchangeable for things like food, transportation and electronics. A stimulation of millions As of the middle of June, Nanjing has issued at least 380 …

Even in light of recent riots, protests, and uncertainties, mainstream U.S. financial markets show upward prices due to overarching forces, according to Morgan Creek Digital co-founder, Anthony Pompliano. "Yes there are protests, there are all these things, but the bigger force is the fact that now all these businesses are opening up," Pompliano said in a June 2 episode of "Lunch Money" on his YouTube channel. "There's going to be more economic activity and there should be a recovery in that data." Economy returning to function After weeks of shelter-in-place orders and COVID-19 protection measures, many U.S. states are currently …

A report claims that negative interest rates present Bitcoin (BTC) with a unique opportunity. The May 14 report, published by Stack Funds, stipulates that if the interest rates in the U.S. turn negative in the near future, it will force market participants to look for alternatives to traditional assets. This could present Bitcoin with a real opportunity to garner institutional adoption. Negative interest rates It is important to keep in mind that there is no single interest rate in the economy, but rather many. The one that the report alludes to is a Federal Funds Rate — an overnight rate …

Although coronavirus conditions have created global economic difficulties, cryptocurrencies could see growth amid the struggle, according to one blockchain incubator's head. "Short-term: digital currencies suddenly look appealing," Polyient Labs CEO Brad Robertson told Cointelegraph in a May 1 email. "If someone only looked back at the last two weeks, they might think 'cryptocurrencies are back, baby,'" he added. Bitcoin has rebounded faster than mainstream markets Bitcon crashed in tandem with mainstream markets on March 12 amid rising coronavirus fears. Both sectors have since recovered, although Bitcoin sprung back to life more quickly than traditional markets. The U.S. government's recent money …

The demand for cryptocurrency in certain countries is growing amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Bitcoin (BTC) peer-to-peer trading volume in Argentina, Chile, Venezuela and Morocco has peaked over the past few weeks, marking new all-time highs. Additional reports suggest that traffic on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges has also peaked within the past few weeks, while major trading platforms such as Kraken and Coinbase have commenced hiring sprees due to increased customer interest. So, why exactly are people trading more crypto during the global lockdown, and where is this trend most apparent? COVID-19 triggered a massive selldown Like perhaps any other industry out …

The volume of Bitcoin (BTC) in Argentine pesos has risen exponentially since the 2018 cryptocurrency crash, as the country faces a possible default on $65 billion in foreign debt. Arcane Research posted data to Twitter on April 23 showing that the weekly volume of Bitcoin purchased with Argentine pesos has jumped 1028% since January 2018. However, the volume from BTC and USD has also shown substantial increases of 407% and 139%, respectively. Source: Twitter This surge is happening “as the government is about to default on its debt and the currency is suffering from inflation.” Demand for crypto in uncertain …