The XBO Weekly #7 – Crypto News
EU miners under pressure as winter draws near
As Europe braces for a severe winter in the midst of an energy crisis precipitated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, pressure is mounting on cryptocurrency miners to suspend operations. Given that Europe presently accounts for around 10% of global mining activity, the European Commission noted that "attention must be made to deploy only the most energy-efficient versions of the equipment." In other words, favoring cryptocurrencies that employ the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism like Ethererum (ETH) rather than Proof-of-Work (PoW), such as Bitcoin (BTC). While PoS reduces energy needs significantly, it raises centralization and the likelihood that blockchains that adopt it may be censored. PoW energy requirements, which are increasingly derived from renewable energy sources, create prohibitive costs that defend the network's integrity from censorship.
Crypto adoption accelerates in LATAM region
Beginning in November 2022, Tether (USDT) will be accessible at 24,000 ATMs, strengthening Brazilians' participation in the financial system and assisting them in overcoming the challenges and constraints brought on by inflation. Soon, Brazilian ATM customers will be able to instantly exchange Brazilian reals for USDT and vice versa, as well as send USDT anywhere in the world (Brazilians already transacted 1.4 billion USDT in August 2022). In related news, Nubank, the largest digital bank in Brazil by market value, stated on Wednesday that it would launch its own coin in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico in the first half of 2023. "Nucoin," which is based on Polygon, will be distributed without charge to the bank’s 70 million users and used to provide discounts and benefits.
Payments giant makes crypto offerings easier
Mastercard, the world's second-largest payment processor, has launched Crypto Source, a new program designed to help banks and fintech firms offer cryptocurrency trading and other services to their customers. To launch the initiative, the payments giant announced a partnership with regulated blockchain infrastructure platform Paxos. Crypto Source will help banks adhere to regulatory compliance while also managing security, a cause of concern which has kept financial institutions at bay from crypto assets. This step forward in the adoption process offers potential customers who are wary of crypto a more secure way to enter the market.
XBO featured Coin of the Week – Uniswap (UNI)
UNI is the governance token of Uniswap, an Ethereum-powered decentralized exchange (DEX). It enables users to trade Ethereum tokens without the need for an account or the payment of fees. DEXs do not hold user funds. Instead, users are held accountable using smart contracts stored on the blockchain. The primary advantage of a DEX is that it is extremely secure, as there is no single point of failure that may be exploited. Uniswap closed its second investment round earlier this month, led by the Polychain Capital Funds, raising $165 million to support Web3, DeFi, and NFT market activities. UNI has a market valuation of $4.64 billion at its current price of $6.18. It is down 86% from its all-time peak in May 2021 and up 83% from its current cycle low of $3.38 in June 2022.
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Disclaimer: The above does not constitute financial advice. It is only intended for informational and educational purposes
