Find the best CRYPTOtrends

Cryptocurrency is a possibly extraordinary digital resource for investment. Among different commodities, cryptocurrency will keep on being in the buzz for investment this year. If we pick the profits graph of the most recent ten years, cryptocurrencies have been among the most maximum yielding investment items. In this article, we provided a list of the top 10 most popular cryptocurrencies in 2021. 

May 2021 | AtoZ Markets – There is no single cryptocurrency we can bring up as the most elite. Numerous cryptocurrencies offer very pleasant opportunities for investment, relying upon what you’re searching for and what your investment objectives are. The height of the experience you have is a nother interesting point. For instance, cryptocurrencies may be a wise investment for the novice. While others appropriate for further developed crypto traders.

Moreover, it would be best if you remembered that purchasing the best cryptocurrencies isn’t sufficient to be a fruitful crypto trader. Many traders have seen their crypto venture reached to a conclusion since they didn’t give enough effort to security. If you are eager about investing resources into cryptocurrencies, you need to invest energy into ensuring your investment by strengthening your security.

Many individuals will debate that cryptocurrencies are the eventual fate of the fund. While that future may be years away, it is positively not an insane description to make. Digital currencies offer various points of interest contrasted with conventional fiat cash, for example, lower charges, transparency, and transaction/exchange speed.

When taking a glance at cryptocurrencies from an investor’s point of view, there are mostly five causes for consideration.

If you have any intention to put resources into the crypto market this year, then 2021 will be the most fabulous year to put resources into cryptocurrencies, as indicated by numerous crypto fans. Below here we mentioned top 10 most popular cryptocurrencies in 2021:

Bitcoin is in the first place of the most popular cryptocurrency to date. Bitcoin’s price is quite higher than other cryptocurrencies. Besides, it is frequently mentioned as “the king of cryptocurrencies”. Bitcoin’s price has climbed significantly in a few months and Bitcoin holding the current price above $55,000. Many analysts predict that Bitcoin’s price may reach $100k this year. Moreover, as the world economy is currently in a recession because of COVID-19, investors are looking forward to safe-havens, which boosts Bitcoin price at an all-time high. So, this is the high time to invest in Bitcoin, before the price strikes further.

Besides, the primary objective of Bitcoin to get worldwide, distributed, digital money, which has segregated from any guideline and along these lines completely decentralized. Other than that, the explanation of keeping Bitcoin on your investment radar is that it has the most elevated liquidity in the crypto space, which likewise makes it the best cryptocurrency to purchase if you are a novice.

ETH comes second on the list of top 10 most popular cryptocurrencies. ETH is the endemic cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain network, which is most likely the digital coin alone that has figured out how to approach the prominence and fame of Bitcoin. It’s an altcoin that uses efficient smart contracts planned in such a way that it can be utilized in a diversity of real-world applications for performing exchanges in an extremely secure, decentralized, and distributed style. Whereas Bitcoin, the worth and request of the ETH are generally filled by its ease of use. Besides, the appeal for its blockchain and applications that can be handily altered to manufacture other decentralized applications, currencies, and smart contracts.

Ripple is in the third position on the list of most popular cryptocurrencies. It is the all-time most loved cryptocurrency of numerous investors. Because other than Bitcoin, Ripple is likely the most utilized coin for cross-border installments by many major financial institutions, including banks, over the world. Moreover, going about as the essential currency for performing exchanges/transactions inside the Ripple Ecosystem. The Ripple coin can similarly utilize for performing simple and reasonable worldwide financial exchanges/transactions. The Ripple network offers a scope of well-known items, for example, RippleNET, xRapid, and xCurrent. That being utilized by organizations worldwide for finding and associating with clients and service providers.

The fourth most popular cryptocurrency DASH is another computerized currency that was made on the idea of secure, shared advanced installments. In addition to other things that make Dash a well-known coin is the capacity to process installments immediately, in real-time. That empowers people and associations around the globe to perform sheltered and immediate cross-border exchanges utilizing Dash. It is also mainstream since it charges an exceptionally low expense from the transacting/executing parties, and the installments are dependable. The ongoing consultation from the World Health Organization (WHO) to receive digital cash over paper money to keep away from infections like COVID-19. It’s relied upon to bring about a major lift in the value and demand of Dash and numerous other cryptocurrencies out there.

NEO is the 1st open-source digital money started in China. It likewise, in some cases, called the Chinese form of Bitcoin. As it appears to work pretty much like Bitcoin, which has authoritatively not legal in China. NEO is unique about BTC. For one, it is open-source and run by a network of NEO clients, investors, and planners. NEO highlights a cross-platform, multi-language upheld smart contract system based on blockchain technology for simple and proficient administration of computerized resources in a decentralized situation. The essential focal point of the NEO system on making an ecosystem where genuine resources can digitize for simple liquidity and to support the mass appropriation of blockchain.

TRON is the 6th of most popular cryptocurrencies. It is a blockchain-based working system that permits developers to assemble cutting edge decentralized applications, smart contracts, and so forth on the blockchain. TRON expects to build up an environment or a sort of new web which has run by blockchain. It likewise serves as a worldwide, decentralized substance management system dependent on blockchain technology. Suppose you are a patron of the decentralized economy and indulge in a system where financial transactions are no longer administered by centralized entities. For example, banks or the administration, you ought to surely look at the TRON investment.

Titan coin, or TTN, is on the 7th of the top cryptocurrencies. It is one of the recent coins that relatively few individuals think about. However, yet they merit appraisal for the imaginative utilization of blockchain technology. In the beginning, Titan coin resembles whatever other digital money that can be utilized for making simple, quick, and secure cross-border installments. You can utilize it at any vendor or site that acknowledges the coin. It utilizes hybrid consensus (PoS/PoW) for included security and effectiveness in the blockchain.

However, what makes the titan coin remarkable and unique about most different cryptocurrencies is the nearness of genuine use cases. The Titan investment has been introduced as an environment that includes a scope of exceptionally usable activities or mobile applications that may make everyday tasks simpler for the general populace. All the applications in the ecosystem use titan coin as a method for secure, in-application installments, along these lines making an undeniable demand and boosting the coin an incentive in the market.

Litecoin is secured in the 8th position on the top most popular cryptocurrency/digital money list. It is a shared cryptocurrency dependent on blockchain. It works pretty much like Bitcoin however has fewer asset escalated. As such, the upkeep of a Litecoin organize is moderately simpler and less expensive. It utilizes blockchain technology for the creation and move of computerized coins. Litecoin is one of the first altcoins (bitcoin elective) and introduced in 2011. The primary variety among LTC and BTC is in the kind of hashing algorithm they use. The utilization of the Scrypt PoW algorithm by Litecoin permits clients to mine this coin with GPU and other customer grade equipment.

ICON is one of the principal projects to chip away at the idea of blockchain technology interoperability.  That permits clients on these blockchains to interface and transact with one another. This successfully extends the range and use instances of cross-chain technology. ICON runs on a typical reason for blockchain technology that depends on the Proof-of-Stake consensus. That may utilize for making and actualizing smart contracts with other decentralized applications (DApps). The ICON blockchain has supposed to have the option to process numerous exchanges or transactions every second.

ZRX is, last but not least, of the top 10 most popular cryptocurrencies/digital money. It has a cryptocurrency for the clients of the Ox platform. That has a blockchain technology convention for permitting the decentralized (shared) transaction of the token and the scope of advanced resources on the Ethereum blockchain. ZRX holders can likewise vest their tokens by marking with 0x market producers and achieve liquidity awards in return.

Thus, here closes the rundown of the top 10 most popular cryptocurrencies. It can add value to your time and cash in 2021 and further. Keep in mind this is not proficient monetary guidance. It is only a couple of determined crypto recommendations dependent on continuous market patterns. Continuously do your examination and research a cryptocurrency before putting resources into it.

Think we missed something? Let us know in the comment section below.

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Mike Novogratz, whose Galaxy Digital cryptocurrency fund announced the purchase of the BitGo crypto custodian on Wednesday, has appeared on Bloomberg TV to share his take on the recent rally of Dogecoin.

Novogratz mentioned Elon Musk and Mark Cuban but stated that there is far more to the meme-coin surge than just those two influencers.

The main driver for the Dogecoin rally, according to the Galaxy Digital founder, is the retail funds of millennials and gen Z, who feel nihilistic about the current crisis in the global financial system and are seeking any suitable store of value.

For this reason, Novogratz said, equities are going up and real estate prices in some regions are surging, as are baseball cards and other collectibles (in which non-fungible tokens stand as a separate wave).

Fiat debasement has also pushed the price of Bitcoin up, from last October to now, as it reached an all-time high of $64,863 on April 14, according to CoinMarketCap. Now, DOGE is also rising, despite it being initially a joke and a Bitcoin parody.

Novo pointed out that the triggers that are making equities go up are also pushing cryptocurrencies to the North.

However, Novogratz believes that investing in DOGE is very dangerous since it can go down as easily as it is going up now.

This is due to the lack of development going on in the DOGE ecosystem and the total absence of institutional money going into Dogecoin, Novogratz reckons. "This is a retail frenzy," he emphasized.

The Digital Galaxy CEO calls DOGE a pure bet and mentioned that, earlier this week, his company released a detailed report on DOGE.

This fact and the fact that the community has managed to build an $80 billion market cap for this asset certainly shows "some sense of success" for DOGE.

He pointed out, however, that although DOGE is going up, along with BCH, ETC and LINK, the crypto industry is not a bubble. He expects, though, that the prices of these coins can go up and down easily.

Bloomberg TV host and podcaster Joe Weisenthal, who is a strong crypto opponent, believes that the majority of DOGE holders are not in a rush to sell their "riches" for a certain important reason.

Despite "sitting on unreal % gains," he tweeted, the actual gains in U.S. dollar equivalent are not so impressive since many have bought only $100 or $1,000 worth of Dogecoin.

So, a lot of holders are not tempted to sell their DOGE since the amount of dollars made on this rally is far from life-changing.

Ripple publishes the quarterly XRP Markets Report to voluntarily provide transparency and regular updates on the company’s views on the state of crypto generally including the XRP market, such as quarterly sales updates, relevant XRP-related announcements and commentary on previous quarter market developments. 

As an XRP holder, Ripple believes proactive communication and transparency are part of being a responsible stakeholder. Moreover, Ripple urges others in the industry to follow its lead to build trust, foster open communication and raise the bar, industry-wide.

Executive Summary 

The first quarter of 2021 was an exceptionally strong period for crypto. Total crypto market capitalization ballooned from ~$800B to almost $2T in the span of three months, and institutional adoption was once again a key driver of this gain. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs individually announced plans to include BTC as part of their wealth management offerings, while BlackRock began trading BTC futures. 

Over $3B worth of BTC ended up on the balance sheets of publicly traded corporations, which is roughly the value of all institutional purchases in 2020, and the industry saw a large-scale commercial use case when Tesla announced it began accepting BTC directly for payments. While there have been commercial uses of crypto including BitPay and Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity solution for years, Tesla is one of the first examples of a large non-financial services player jumping into the industry. 

As more sophisticated participants began entering the space, markets also became more leveraged, evidenced by the growth of derivative markets. Open interest in BTC and ETH futures tripled in the first quarter in February, which saw open interest grow to $150M from 0 during the quarter. Open interest in XRP futures doubled from $250M to $500M. That number temporarily shot up to $2.1B in the first two weeks of Q2. 

The growth of leverage is further exemplified by the number of forced liquidations that occurred in Q1. Three separate events individually contributed to $1.5B in liquidations across derivative exchanges when BTC price fell by only 10%. To put that into perspective, the 50% BTC crash in March 2020 which was dubbed Black Thursday, led to a total of $1.4B in liquidations.

The State of U.S. Crypto Regulation 

As we have said from the very beginning, the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple will have a profound impact on the crypto and fintech industry as a whole. A healthy market requires regulatory clarity and consistency, but the SEC’s current approach – regulation by enforcement – has caused havoc for U.S. XRP holders, developers, content providers and small businesses that use and rely on XRP and the XRP Ledger. The U.S. crypto industry needs a clear path forward and, as the lawsuit continues, we hope its outcome will provide some of the regulatory certainty that’s desperately needed for industry maturation and progress for all market participants in the U.S.

Key lawsuit updates since the previous report:

On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) Momentum Continues 

To meet growing demand for ODL, Ripple agreed to acquire 40% of Asia’s leading cross-border payments specialist, Tranglo. This partnership will help Ripple expand the reach of ODL to the APAC region, starting in Southeast Asia and supporting existing corridors such as the Philippines.

Disciplined, Responsible Stakeholders: Q1 Sales and Purchases 

Last quarter, total XRP sales by Ripple, net of purchases, were $150.34M (USD) vs. $76.27M the previous quarter. The increase in XRP sales can be attributed to deeper engagement from key ODL customers. For well over a year, Ripple has not sold programmatically.

Ripple continued to engage in sales to support ODL and key infrastructure partners as part of providing increased XRP liquidity to improve the ODL experience of certain customers, eliminating the need for pre-funding and enabling instant global payments. 

Total sales by Ripple, net of purchases, ended the quarter at 7 bps or 0.07% of global XRP volume according to CryptoCompare TopTier (CCTT) volumes. This is compared to total sales in the previous quarter of 5 bps according to CCTT. 

*ODL-related sales include leases, OTC and XRP sales to support ODL (including Line of Credit) and key infrastructure partners. 

**Note: Figures were compiled using the CryptoCompare API for daily TopTier aggregate volumes which reflects total XRP volume in dollars by exchanges that CryptoCompare lists in the TopTier. Ripple continues to evaluate its benchmarks given challenges, such as fake volume, that continue to persist in the industry.

Certain wallets that are being used for XRP sales also provide short-term leases to market makers. This is worth noting given they are often mischaracterized by market participants as sales. Leases are ultimately returned to Ripple. 

Reported Volume

CCTT’s reported daily volume for XRP increased significantly in Q1 2021 from Q4 2020. The average daily volume reported was $2.26B in Q1 vs. $1.61B in the previous quarter. Notably, XRP volumes posted four of the highest volume days ever recorded. 

Volatility 

XRP’s standard deviation of daily returns over Q1 was 9.0%, representing a decrease in volatility from Q4’s 9.6%. XRP’s volatility over the quarter was higher than that of BTC (3.4%) and ETH (4.4%).

Ripple’s Escrow 

In Q1 2021, three billion XRP were released out of escrow (one billion each month) in line with prior quarters, and the official escrow arrangement. In total, 2.7 billion XRP were returned and subsequently put into new escrow contracts throughout the quarter. For more information on the escrow process, see here. Note: All figures are reported based on transactions executed during the quarter.

There was a slight uptick of conversation around Ripple “flooding the market” last quarter, as many continue to misunderstand the mechanics of the escrow process which are simply transfers between Ripple treasury and escrow management accounts. In other words, those transfers do not equate to Ripple distributing XRP.

Ripple is committed to transparency as reflected by this quarterly markets report. As noted above, XRP sales and distributions (such as leases which are returned to Ripple) can be attributed to ODL. Ripple plays a responsible role in the liquidity process. Outside of Ripple, however, large XRP holders do exist as is the case with other major cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH.

Accumulation 

Data indicates that Q1 2021 was a quarter of XRP accumulation. The number of “whale” wallets, defined as wallets with balances of at least 10M XRP, increased from 308 to 319. Similarly, the number of wallets holding between 1M and 10M XRP increased from 1,125 to 1,196. 

Similarly, ETH saw significant accumulation as well. The number of wallets holding at least 1,000 ETH increased from 1,178 to 1,253 during the quarter.

On-chain Metrics

Last quarter, the number of active XRPL wallets increased as on-ledger activity grew. In Q1, total on-ledger payment volume was $62.3B, representing a 23% increase quarter-on-quarter, while the number of total on-ledger wallet addresses increased 15% from 2.35M to 2.70M.  

XRP Integrations

Global XRP infrastructure saw significant development and innovation in Q1 and early Q2 including:

In addition, Wanchain and Huobi ECO Chain (HECO) built cross-chain bridges to the XRP Ledger, adding new integrations into DeFi. Separately, CoinShares, the largest crypto asset manager in Europe, launched an XRP exchange-traded product on the primary Swiss Stock Exchange SIX and reported a significant increase in XRP inflows.

Broader XRP Community 

For developers and entrepreneurs, the past quarter presented new opportunities to build various use cases on the XRP Ledger as interest in crypto continues to skyrocket. While no one company or individual can track every project being built on this open-source technology, there are hundreds of use cases from cross-border payments and lending to marketplaces and custody solutions.

Developers choose to build on the XRPL to take advantage of its green attributes and unique functionalities to move value. The XRP Ledger is the first major carbon-neutral blockchain and inherently energy efficient, alleviating high energy consumption and costs that developers experience when building on proof-of-work blockchains.

Ripple is just one player in a broader community building on the XRP Ledger. Learn more at xrpl.org and in GitHub project repositories.

Lagos — May 3, 2021 — Africa’s first government backed NFT initiative, AFEN on Friday announced a partnership with cryptocurrency exchange, Quidax.

AFEN which aims to be a leading hub for African Blockchain stated the partnership is strategic and would enable it to list the $Afen token on Quidax the home of BEP20 tokens.

According to a spokesperson at AFEN the partnership with Quidax lends credence to what they have been working on for a long time.

In a statement from Quidax, they mentioned the huge prospects of the NFT platform, which they believe will revolutionize opportunities in Africa. Quidax also stated they will continue to back credible cryptocurrency projects which will result in real world usage.

As a result of the partnership, customers of Quidax will be able to buy the $Afen token as soon as it is listed. The listing date for $afen on Quidax and trading pairs are yet to be announced. Although, $Afen can be bought and traded on Julswap. As well as on Bitmart from May 1st, 2021.

The growing interest in NFTs has enabled AFEN to gain traction, attracting the attention of both established companies and startups. The project which is the first government backed NFT project in Africa, aims at revolutionizing opportunities in Africa through blockchain technology is focused on three sectors; art, real estate and education.

AFEN will have the exclusive right to mint legacy African arts upon the launch of its NFT marketplace, adding value to Africa’s art. The $Afen token will be used for transactions on its NFT marketplace. AFEN is also expected to release a new roadmap that will include the development stages of its NFT platform as well as extensive tokenomics. More details about the $Afen token is available on the AFEN whitepaper and on the AFEN community on telegram

AFEN is a leading hub for African Blockchain with a focus on Decentralized Finance, Arts, Real Estate and Education on the Binance Smart Chain. AFEN has the objective of combining blockchain’s immutable data structure and the backing of government bodies to provide legitimacy to products.

Quidax is the home of BEP20 tokens that gives anyone access to tokens on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and popular cryptocurrencies. It also enables Fintech companies to offer cryptocurrency services to their customers.

Quidax was officially launched in 2018 and currently has customers in over 70 countries.

On May 15, 2021, the Bitcoin Cash network will undergo the process of an upgrade that will bring a handful of improvements. These updates include the removal of the unconfirmed transaction limit, enabling multiple OP_RETURNS, the implementation of double-spend proofs, and the inclusion of a new mining block default limit size of 8 MB, as the inclusion of CHIPs (Cash Improvement Proposals) to introduce new specification changes to the protocol.

The Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network will experience an upgrade on May 15th that will bring a series of simple, yet interesting changes focused on usability and quality of life improvements instead of hard changes to the consensus algorithm. Most of the important changes are destined to improve the experience of users and merchants when using bitcoin cash to make online or in-store payments, reaffirming the commitment the currency has with becoming a peer-to-peer cash-focused tool.

The first important change proposed is the removal of the unconfirmed chained transaction limit, which will allow users to do more than 50 chained unconfirmed transactions at a time. This was a highly requested feature for a long time by gambling sites and other high volumes, quick transaction apps that relied on Bitcoin Cash as a payment solution. Satoshi Dice, a dice-playing app, even offered a bounty of 1000 BCH last year to get rid of this limit. Now, its users will be able to enjoy a more streamlined experience without having to wait for a block to be mined every 50 transactions.

Another important update is the introduction of double-spend tests, that will allow nodes to message certain wallets when an attempt of double spending is happening with a transaction. This will improve the security of 0-conf transactions for applications that use high-volume, high-value transactions commonly.

Other important updates include changing the default block mining max size to eight megabytes, something that will allow new installs and lazy operators to include mine bigger blocks without having to configure this parameter by themselves (but the option can be changed), and the inclusion of more than one OP_RETURN statement in each transaction, offering programmers the choice of using this space for other different purposes while still preserving its use for the SLP token protocol.

One of the most criticized aspects of the upgrade/ hard fork the process of Bitcoin Cash was the centralization and transparency of what was going to be included in each upgrade and what was definitely left out. For past updates, there was no standard to follow and goalposts and objectives were often moved with no definition. To solve this particular problem, the node programming community introduced the concept of CHIPs.

CHIPs (Cash Improvement Proposals) are standardized proposals that seek to modify or improve certain aspects of the Bitcoin Cash environment. These CHIPs would have to be first presented to the community to be considered by full node client programmers, who will try to find consensus to include (or reject any significant modification. Most of the CHIPs presented till now are hosted on the Bitcoin Cash Research page, which serves as a sort of hub for these considerations.

All of this will need a longer period to take care of and examine each one of the proposals before an update; this is the reason why this upgrade is also modifying the schedule for upgrades to happen once every year. This is a more stable approach that now allows for more experimentation and careful consideration of more radical changes to the protocol for future upgrade cycles.

Meanwhile, bitcoin cash (BCH) markets have seen significant gains during the last 48 hours, jumping over the $1,200 per unit range on Wednesday morning (ET).

What do you think about the Bitcoin Cash May 15 network upgrade? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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The ETH price topped $3,000 for the first time ever this past Sunday, May 2. By mid-afternoon the next day, ETH had exceeded $3,300. On Tuesday, May 3, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was changing hands around $3,500. 

Year to date, ETH price has nearly quintupled in a rally many analysts believe is fueled by speculation over the future of decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). 

“It used to be the other way around, but now Bitcoin is riding the coattails of Ethereum,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst for the brokerage Oanda, to CoinDesk in an email.   

The bullish price activity of ether over the month of April and into May is in sharp contrast to the poor price performance of bitcoin (BTC) seen over the same time period. 

Since as early as April 2020, ETH’s correlation to BTC has been on the decline, moving from above 0.9 to below 0.7. This trend suggests more investors are beginning to recognize the unique value propositions of these two crypto assets and evaluate their investment cases differently. 

As a result of ETH’s price rally, network rewards issued to both Ethereum miners and Ethereum 2.0 validators are becoming more lucrative than ever. 

Since the launch of the Ethereum 2.0 network on Dec. 1, 2020, total daily validator rewards have increased from roughly $200,000 to $3 million. Miner revenues have also risen significantly over the same time period, trending at about $11 million in December to a high of over $82 million by April. 

In a recent message posted to a public Ethereum Discord chatroom, Ethereum Foundation’s Tim Beiko warned that mining could soon become obsolete on Ethereum as a result of ongoing development and progress for the Rayonism project. 

Plans to expedite Ethereum’s transition to a fully proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus protocol took a big step forward this past week with Steklo. 

On Friday, April 30, developers launched the first multi-client test network simulating the Ethereum blockchain run atop Ethereum 2.0 software. 

The testnet, dubbed Steklo, faced several challenges as soon as it went live at 12:00 UTC. Some users were unable to process blocks. Others found themselves out of sync with the rest of the network which caused chain splits. 

Steklo has since been deactivated by developers, who are now working on a second testnet to be launched as early as next week. 

“[Steklo] is still just a 1-day interop[erability] test; we can spin up more later, after testing and sync improvements,” said Ethereum Foundation researcher Diederik Loerakker, better known as Protolambda, in a Discord chat room. “Good work everyone on this first [attempt] though; we made a lot of progress in testnet setup and client integration.”

The larger goal will be to activate a working testnet between various Ethereum and Eth 2.0 software clients that not only activates PoS but also the technology of sharding. Sharding is a way of splitting up the processing load for transaction data across multiple networks. In Ethereum’s case, the plan is to create 64 sub-networks, also known as “shards.”

Functionality for sharding will be added to the third and fourth testnets that developers are working toward creating in the next few weeks as the Scaling Ethereum hackathon wraps up. 

As detailed in a previous Valid Points issue, these efforts, focusing exclusively on Ethereum’s PoS merge and sharding implementation, kicked off in mid-April under the project name “Rayonism.” 

By May 14, developers coding for the Rayonism project at the Scaling Ethereum hackathon expect to have launched two more testnets in addition to Steklo, each more feature-complete and durable. 

In a presentation at Scaling Ethereum, Loerakker said work on Rayonism will continue even after the hackathon until developers are completely satisfied that code specifications for merging Ethereum and Eth 2.0 are secure.

“What we have [on] Ethereum is a huge amount, like basically one of the biggest decentralized exchanges, [and] all the dapps. There’s a whole super large ecosystem and we should protect it. So  … after the hackathon as well – it’s not going to be a hackathon forever – we move towards production with iteration,” said Loerakker.

Ongoing progress on Rayonism has certain members of the Ethereum community expectant that the energy-intensive activity of mining could become obsolete and replaced with PoS validating as soon as December. 

Beiko said on Discord, “If I was [an Ethereum] miner, I would plan to break even at the latest by EOY 2021. I much prefer to be too conservative in these predictions than not.”

Valid Points incorporates information and data directly from CoinDesk’s own Eth 2.0 validator node in weekly analysis. All profits made from this staking venture will be donated to a charity of our choosing once transfers are enabled on the network. For a full overview of the project, check out our announcement post. 

You can verify the activity of the CoinDesk Eth 2.0 validator in real time through our public validator key, which 46d323ddad0f574fdcc50eeefec34ed9d2039ecb. 

Search for it on any Eth 2.0 block explorer site.

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If you have invested in Bitcoin, then its soaring prices might be making you happy. However, if you are an environmentalist, then bitcoin is as bad as any fossil fuel or aforestation, as the carbon footprint created by Bitcoin is as massive as the carbon footprint of New Zealand.

According to researchers, Bitcoin is now consuming more electricity than the electricity consumption of the Netherlands and Cambridge University. Bitcoin's carbon footprint is similar to New Zealand, which produces 36.95 megatons of CO2 per year. According to Digonomist, Bitcoin consumes 77.78 TWh annually, which is equivalent to that of Chile's power consumption.

According to a report published by Cambridge University, using the tool Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, the power consumption of bitcoin is much higher than the report from Digonomist and is said to consume 110.53 TWh of power per year, surpassing the power consumption of Netherland. It is also said that Bitcoin alone consumes around 0.5 percent of global electricity.

As we already know, Bitcoin is a digital currency with no physical entity. The entire Bitcoin is stored digitally across the world in various servers. Unlike most currencies, there are no central governing authorities that control Bitcoin and are stored in various computers and data centers using Blockchain technology.

You can either buy a Bitcoin using various cryptocurrency exchange platforms else you can mine them, which requires massive computers with powerful GPUs that consume a lot of power. So, to mine a Bitcoin, one has to solve (done by the computer) a complex hashing algorithm, and as a reward or proof of work, one will get paid in Bitcoin.

As the value of Bitcoin increases, the carbon footprint of Bitcoin is also expected to go up and it is a vicious cycle for the environment for sure. And this 'proof of work' mechanism is the main reason for the massive power consumption of Bitcoin, not the regular transactions.

Do note that China houses the majority of Bitcoin mining facilities, where the country still depends on coal to produce electricity for the most part. As we depend on more digital services, we are bound to increase carbon footprint, unless the electricity is harnessed using renewable sources.

Whether it’s Elon Musk or Warren Buffet, cryptocurrency is the buzz word in the financial markets. Released in 2009, Bitcoin was the first decentralized digital asset and undoubtedly the most popular cryptocurrency to date. While Bitcoin and Ethereum are popular coins familiar to many, emerging altcoins, like the meme-based Dodge coin, or Shiba Inu coin are setting social media afire with the hopes of making people rich and/or working toward changing our world. An altcoin is defined as any token that isn’t Bitcoin. According to Bloomberg News, Ethereum is the most actively used blockchain. Like any investment, it’s imperative one does research, especially when it comes to crypto as it’s quite volatile and there is so much to learn regarding blockchain technology. Cryptocurrency can be bought in a variety of different places. Each platform doesn’t offer every coin and there are varying fees. You want to ensure wherever you purchase or trade your coins, it’s a secure platform to prevent your coins from getting stolen.

Once you’ve educated yourself on the coins, here are the top three places where you can buy them. Remember, no matter how exciting this seems, never invest more than you are willing (or able) to lose.

Coinbase

Launched in San Francisco, CA in 2012, Coinbase was one of the top 10 US IPO’s in history, making early investors, including Nas, very rich in April 2021. The platform is the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange and broker. You can buy popular altcoins on the platform as well, with the ability to purchase 32 different digital assets. Coinbase will even pay you in altcoins to learn about the specific coin! Your account can have as little as $2.00 and you can begin trading at that price as well. The fees to trade are between 0.5% to 4.5%, depending on the transaction, making it one of the higher cryptocurrency transaction fees for platforms on the market. Also, depending on your payment method, you’ll incur various fees. Your debit card will lead a 3.99% transaction fee, your U.S. bank account or Coinbase wallet has a 1.49% fee, while ACH transfers are free.  Coinbase also has Coinbase Pro, which has 36 cryptocurrencies to trade and contains more straightforward transaction fees. Coinbase only allows U.S. based transactions, in every state except Hawaii. The site platform is offering $5.00 in free Bitcoin for signing up.

eToro

Founded in 2007, eToro offers access to buy and trade 15 cryptocurrencies and recently made headlines for adding Dodge to their mix because of customer demand. Users can begin trading cryptocurrency at $50 and the platform operates in over 60 countries and in the United States, offers cryptocurrency trading in 38 states and two territories. The platform also allows traders to buy stocks, Contracts for Difference (CFD’s) on ETF’s, commodities, and indices; however, this isn’t available to U.S. citizens. eToro is the first social trading platform and allows users to talk to other eToro users about their trades, follow other traders, and even mimic trading strategies of other users. This is a great platform for individuals who are new to cryptocurrency trading and want to learn from more experienced traders or anyone who wants more information on the market in general. Fees to trade on eToro start at .75% for Bitcoin; however, the range is between 1.9% and 2.9%. eToro also offers a free digital wallet called eToro wallet for individuals that want to store their cryptocurrency and it’s available in iOS and Android. However, to convert your cryptocurrency into USD via the wallet will cost 5%, which is a pretty hefty fee.

Binance.US

Binance (BinanceUS for United States users) is a popular platform because of their low fees. The American version was launched in September 2019 in San Francisco. Depending on the payment method, fees range from 0.1% to 5%. There are more than 50 cryptocurrencies available to trade, even though it’s lower than it’s parent version, Binance, it’s still higher than many of the other U.S. exchanges. The trading minimum on this platform is $10.00 with a flat .1% spot trading fee. Binance.US offers three different trading platforms: Basic, Advanced and OTC, which allows for peer-to-peer trading. Peer to peer trading on Binance.US allows direct trading between buyers and sellers with no transaction fees. Instead, users are charged the spread between the buy and the sell price. While there have been no reported hacks in Binance.US, in 2019, the parent company, Binance reported $40M worth of bitcoins stolen, but they paid their users back in full. BinanceUS doesn’t have their own personal wallet; however, they use Trust Wallet (which is available on IOS and Android) and users can use their own choice of crypto wallet.

Crypto exchange Bitso has wrapped up a $250 million Series C fundraising round, joining the roster of newly minted crypto unicorns.

Investment legends Tiger Global and Coatue Management co-led the round, which finished just a few months after Bitso announced its Series B. Bitso joins a fast-growing list of new crypto unicorns—including Paxos, BlockFi, and Dapper Labs—that have raised eye-popping rounds this year. Its valuation stands at $2.2 billion. 

Bitso CEO Daniel Vogel told The Block in an interview that the fundraise follows a period of significant growth for the firm. The exchange—which is among the largest crypto and financial technology firms in Latin America—doubled its user base in less than four months from 1 million to 2 million during 2021. Vogel said its recent expansion into Brazil could potentially double its users again. 

Still, the firm is small relative to its players in the US. Last month, its volumes topped $860 million—a small fraction of the volumes reported by firms like Coinbase and Gemini

Still, the firm sees a future for itself outside of just trading. Vogel said the firm's core exchange business could set the foundation for a broader platform for financial services built for the LATAM region, which has less robust capital markets and financial infrastructure. 

"We want to bring a set of products that is much broader than crypto," he said. "In Argentina, we have thousands of customers that work for companies all over the world and they get paid in stablecoins. We want to help users make crypto part of their ever day."

Paradigm, BOND, and Valor Capital also participated in the funding round.

"Latin America has always had a special appreciation for the power of cryptocurrency,” said Matt Huang, co-founder of Paradigm. “We are excited to back Bitso as the market-leading platform for furthering access to cryptocurrency and financial freedom in Latin America."

Mastercard’s latest survey of 15,000 respondents finds that cryptocurrency and other contactless payment methods are increasingly gaining popularity among consumers in various parts of the world, including Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Caribbean, according to a blog post on May 4, 2021.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on businesses, families, and the world economy , the deadly disease has also succeeded in disrupting the payments ecosystem by encouraging stakeholders to move away from fiat currencies and look for cleaner and contactless payment methods.

According to the New Payments Index research report released by global payments giant, Mastercard, consumers, and shoppers around the world are increasingly moving towards digital and contactless payment methods than fiat currencies.

Specifically, the survey which drew online respondents from 18 markets across various jurisdictions, including Africa, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, and the Caribbean, has discovered that 93 percent of consumers are open to using at least one emerging payment method, such as cryptocurrency, by 2022.

In the same vein, 63 percent of respondents say they have tried at least one new payment method during this pandemic, while more than half of the respondents have made it clear that they would boycott businesses or merchants that do not support digital currency or electronic payments of any kind.

Importantly, the report has also revealed that bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies are also gaining grounds as payment options across the globe, as four in every 10  (40 percent) respondent say they plan to use cryptos in the next year, with 67 percent of the surveyed population hinting that they are more open to cryptos now than they were a year ago.

That’s not all, 77 percent of Millennials say they are interested in learning more about the workings of cryptocurrencies, while 75 percent agreed they would pay with cryptocurrency if they “understood it better.”

Commenting on the latest development, Craig Vosburg, Chief Product Officer at Mastercard reiterated that the demand for digital and contactless payment solutions has made the company think outside the box and it plans to try its best to add support for these emerging payment forms in order to satisfy its users.

“The pandemic made us think differently, partly out of necessity. To deliver the choice and flexibility that consumers need. As we look ahead, we need to continue to enable all choices, both in-store and online, to shape the fabric of commerce and make the digital economy work for everyone.”

In related news, Visa joined forces with Crypto.com earlier in April 2021 to integrate direct USDC payments through credit cards. With Mastercard’s latest bullish stance on cryptocurrency payments, it won’t be a surprise to see the firm accelerating the launch of its proposed crypto payments system.