Adoption

Bitcoin price rally over $21K prompts analysts to explore where BTC price might go next

Bitcoin price is steamrolling above the all-important $20,000 level, leading analysts to speculate on where BTC price might go.

After Bitcoin (BTC) hit a yearly high of $21,095 on Jan. 13, where is it headed next?

Bitcoin is currently witnessing an uptick in bullish momentum after the positively perceived Consumer Price Index (CPI) report was followed by a strong rally across the crypto market. 

The recent rally in Bitcoin is creating increased volume levels and higher social engagement on whether the price is in a breakout of fakeout mode.

Is the Bitcoin bear market over?

While the market is still technically in a bear market compared to last week, investor sentiment is improving. According to the Fear and Greed Index, a crypto-specific metric that measures sentiment using five weighted sources, investors’ feelings about the market hit a monthly high.

Bitcoin Fear and Greed index. Source: alternative.me

Bitcoin price is now above the psychologically important $21,000 level and many analysts and traders are issuing their thoughts on where BTC price could head next.

Let’s explore a few of these perspectives.

Bitcoin trading volumes remain a concern

Bitcoin price has yet to recover from its pre-FTX levels but reached above $21,095 on Jan. 13 for the first time since Nov. 8, 2022. Despite the strength of the recent rally, some analysts believe BTC price needs to remain above the $21,000 support before the current bullish trend can be sustained.

According to Glassnode analysis:

“A renewed bullish trend that started on January 1st drove bitcoin to the $18.6 – $18.9k level, yet a cross over to $19k is necessary to claim a new trading channel around $19-$21k. Resistance is expected around these levels as bitcoin faces a mid-term downward trend. If the price fails to break over the trend line, we expect a retrace toward the $16-$17k area.”

BTC price compared to volume. Source: Glassnode

The lack of trading volume of around $18,000 shows the weakness in the current on-chain and centralized exchange (CEX) activity. The largest volumes and overall activity seem to surround the $16,000 level, suggesting that is a more solid floor than the current price range. With less volume surrounding levels higher than $21,000, Bitcoin’s rally could be capped at $21,095.

Is it just a bear market rally?

Bitcoin is still facing headwinds including massive exchange layoffs in a tightening macro economy, Gemini and Genesis legal issues and the potential establishment of a U.S. House crypto-focused subcommittee.

In addition, Bitcoin’s relative strength index (RSI) is currently showing BTC as overbought. According to RSI analysis, a sharp downtrend may form as the price corrects.

Bitcoin RSI. Source: TradingView

The macro markets are also at major resistance levels. The United States Dollar index (DXY) is at key support which means risk assets like Bitcoin may start to see a sell-off if the index recovers. Bitcoin remains correlated to equities and the SPX mini futures index is also showing signs of a pullback.

TraderSZ explains below:

With Bitcoin investors taking profits as suggested by TraderSZ, it may be tough for BTC to reach higher levels.

Historical analysis points to a new Bitcoin bottom

Bitcoin is currently below its 200-week moving average and according to independent market analyst Rekt Capital, Bitcoin price may have already hit its macro bottom according to historical data. Historically the “Death Cross” level shows a $23,500 bottom.

While traders and technical analysts are not known for accurately predicting how long a bull or bear market might last, independent market analyst HornHairs cited historical data from 2015 to estimate how long it will take for Bitcoin to hit a new all-time high.

The bull market from 2015 to 2017 lasted for 1064 days, matching with the 2018 to 2021 bull market which lasted the same number of days. If traders match the bear market that followed between 2017 to 2018 and 2021 to the current market, it would take 1,001 days until Bitcoin reaches a new all-time high.

Despite the current conditions and the strength of the current price breakout, Bitcoin has proven many technical analysts wrong in the past. Risk-averse traders might consider keeping an eye out for increased trading volume at higher prices as an indicator of whether Bitcoin is finally back in a bull market.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Flare (FLR) airdrops 15% of total supply to XRP holders before correcting by 76%

After a two-year wait, the layer 1 Flare blockchain finally followed through, sending its tokens to those who held XRP at the time of the snapshot.

The Flare (FLR) token airdrop began on Jan. 9, nearly two years after a snapshot of XRP (XRP) holders took place on Dec. 12, 2020. The FLR airdrop was distributed at a ratio of 1.0073 FLR per 1 XRP, with 15% of the total supply released to the community.

A total of 28.5 billion FLR were distributed and according to Flare’s tokenomics, 58.3% of the total genesis FLR supply will be distributed over 36 months.

Flare initial token distribution allocation. Source: Flare

What is Flare?

Flare is a Layer-1 blockchain with an oracle system aiming to boost interoperability among decentralized applications (DApps) and blockchains. While the token only recently launched, the protocol launched its mainnet on July 11. To date, the Flare mainnet has already processed over 70 million transactions with over 500,000 unique wallets.

Flare network block explorers. Source: Flare
Cast your vote now!

FLR follows the path of most airdrops

According to data from CoinGecko, the FLR token started trading on Jan. 9 at $0.05 amid low liquidity on the MeXC exchange. After launch, the token soared to $0.15 as exchanges like Binance, OKX and Kraken started trading the airdropped token.

Shortly after the increased liquidity arrived from the centralized exchanges, the FLR token price began to crash. At the time of writing, FLR price has pulled back by 76% to $0.02 and its 24-hour trading volume sits slightly below $50 million.

While the airdrop provided long-awaited FLR tokens at no cost to XRP holders, the outcome of immediate selling is routine for most airdrops. Proof of real success will be whether the network sees a sustained uptick in the use of its layer 1 and interoperable oracle use case.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Bonk token goes bonkers as traders chase after high yields in the Solana ecosystem

Traders are piling into BONK, boosting its price by triple-digits in the last 24 hours and possibly hinting at a trend reversal in Solana price.

Bonk, a meme token modeled after Shiba Inu (SHIB) that launched on Dec. 25, is skyrocketing and some traders believe the token’s trading volume is potentially driving Solana’s (SOL) price up. Over the past 48 hours, SOL price has gained 34%, and in the past 24 hours, Bonk has climbed 117%, according to data from CoinMarketCap. While the wider crypto market remains suppressed, traders are hoping that Bonk could present new opportunities during the downturn. 

According to the project’s website, Bonk is the first dog token on the Solana blockchain. Initially, 50% of the token supply was airdropped to Solana users with a mission to remove toxic Alameda-styled token economics. The airdrop resulted in more than $20 million in trading volume according to the Solana decentralized exchange Orca.

High yield returns

Liquidity providers (LPs) stand to benefit from interacting with Bonk, and on Jan. 4, LPs are earning over 999% APR, which is much higher than the popular SOL/USD Coin (USDC) pairing.

Liquidity provider returns on Orca. Source: Orca

While high yields do not always stay high, the current rates show large market demand for Bonk. In addition to the increase in demand, Bonk also burned 1 billion of supply on Jan. 3.

Solana (SOL) bounces alongside Bonk

Blockchains like Solana benefit from increased usage. After the FTX collapse, Solana saw multiple projects leaving the ecosystem. On Jan. 4, Solana saw an 18.6% increase in 24-hour fees and a 15.8% increase in 24-hour daily active users.

Solana fees and daily active users. Source: TokenTerminal

In addition to fees and daily active user increases, SOL price rallied above $14 on Jan. 4 for the first time since Dec. 14. Some crypto market participants are attributing Bonk’s growth to Solana’s price action.

While Bonk is merely a meme token, the increasing demand is a positive sign for the Solana blockchain. This is a sign that Vitalik Buterin may get his wish that Solana gets a “chance to thrive.”

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Vitalik Buterin reveals 3 ‘huge’ opportunities for crypto in 2023

There’s still plenty of room for innovation, according to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has shared three “huge” opportunities yet to be realized in crypto: mass wallet adoption, inflation-resistant stablecoins and Ethereum-powered website logins.

During an interview with Bankless co-owner David Hoffman, Buterin shared his outlook for the crypto industry in 2023, responding to Hoffman’s raised concern that the “adoption wave” for decentralized applications is now over and that there’s “less opportunity” for developers to come in and build new decentralized applications.

Buterin instead shrugged off the “limbo period” that Hoffman eluded to, firstly suggesting that more developments need to be made on wallet infrastructure to make crypto easier for everyday people to use and ensure that it is capable of onboarding billions of users.

“If you can make a wallet that a billion people will use — that’s a huge opportunity,” the Ethereum co-founder said.

Secondly, Buterin said that the creation of a hyperinflation-resistant and globally accessible stablecoin that can withstand all types of conditions — both on-chain and in the broader macroeconomy — would be revolutionary for the industry:

“If you can make a stablecoin that can actually survive anything up to, and including, a U.S. dollar hyperinflation […] that’s a huge opportunity as well if you can create something that will feel like a lifeline for everyone going through that situation.”

Buterin, thougdidn’t offer any technical suggestions as to how this could be achieved.

Lastly, Buterin said any technical developments that contribute toward Ethereum taking login powers away from Facebook, Google, Twitter and other centralized monopolies would ultimately enable Ethereum to capture more market dominance on internet-based applications:

“If you can get signed in with Ethereum to work and if you can unseat Facebook and Google and Twitter as the login overlords of the internet, that itself is a huge opportunity, right?”

Buterin did however state that the opportunity to fill market gaps was becoming less obvious due to increasing competition and the maturation of the market.

Related: What are DApps? Everything there is to know about decentralized applications

Ethereum’s co-founder appears to have spent the last few weeks sharing his learnings and advice for the crypto space, including his optimism about the years ahead for the industry. 

Buterin stated on Dec. 5 that blockchain-based identity, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and hybrid applications also excite him about the future of Ethereum and decentralized technologies.

A few days earlier, on Dec. 3, the Ethereum co-founder iterated the importance for traders to take a long-term view by focusing more on technical developments rather than onprice.

Following the collapse of FTX, Buterin advised traders and investors on Nov. 21 to consider the level of human influence that can be exerted over a protocol and to put more trust in open and transparent code than humans.

Is DeFi back? GMX rallies toward all-time high and LOOKS price gains 30%

GMX and LOOKS have staged double-digit rallies in the last week as former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes revealed his investment thesis for both projects.

In a recent blog post, cryptocurrency legend and former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes mentioned he holds sizable bags of GMX and LOOKS tokens. According to Hayes, his main reasoning for investing in both was their platform revenue and their potential to outperform standard Treasury bills. 

Let’s take a brief look at on-chain data and compare GMX and LOOKS to competitors to determine whether Arthur’s assumption will work out. 

GMX usage cooling after a strong November

The week prior to Nov. 16 provided decentralized finance (DeFi) with a significant influx in fees after the centralized exchange (CEX) exodus triggered by FTX’s bankruptcy. The temporary high inflows to DeFi propelled GMX to outperform Uniswap in protocol fees.

On Nov. 28, GMX earned about $1.15 million in daily trading fees, which surpassed Uniswap’s $1.06 million in trading fees on the same day.

GMX fees and daily active users. Source: Token Terminal

While usage of GMX may be decreasing, the token is outperforming the industry. The GMX token is only 8% away from an all-time high, after gaining 59% in the past 30-days.

GMX token performance. Source: Delphi Digital

Since Uniswap is the closest competitor to GMX, comparing the two protocols can show which users prefer to use for trading. Aside from the fee flip on Nov. 28, Uniswap continues to outperform GMX in terms of fee revenue and daily active users. Unlike Uniswap, GMX distributes fees to stakers of various GMX and GLP tokens.

The 90-day peak for Uniswap fees is $5.9 million, whereas GMX’s high in daily fees is only $1.4 million. The major difference in peak fees may show that GMX has reached capacity when it comes to platform usage.

The fees that GMX accrues are split 30% to GMX token holders and 70% to GLP holders. The current homepage for GMX estimates an annual percentage yield of 10% for GMX tokens and 20% for GLP tokens. While GLP would fit Hayes’ 20% annual yield goal, liquidity providers are susceptible to impairment loss and price declines, making it difficult to ensure success against the conservative Treasury bill strategy.

Fees earned by Uniswap and GMX. Source: TokenTerminal

OpenSea usage continues to dominate LooksRare

LooksRare, which is also the home of the LOOKS token, was also mentioned by Hayes due to the fees the NFT protocol earns. To date, NFT marketplaces, including Coinbase, have struggled to chip away at OpenSea’s market dominance.

While OpenSea seems to have a natural flow of daily active users between 35,000 and 50,000, LooksRare has a small range of 350 to 500 users. Using this metric, OpenSea is 100 times bigger than LooksRare and the trend does not seem to change over a 90-day timeframe.

Another difference between the two protocols is that OpenSea does not have a token that emits rewards through staking and inflationary minting. The rewards emission may hit Hayes’ 20% goal, but it should also be noted that LooksRare is notorious for wash trading. The primary objective of these wash trader is to gain more LOOKS tokens, but this could have the effect of diluting the price.

Daily active users of LooksRare and OpenSea. Source: TokenTerminal

The recently announced UniSwap NFT aggregator could help propel LooksRare to gain more “authentic” transactions since users can purchase LooksRare NFTs without ever visiting the site.

The current fee distribution is heavily concentrated toward OpenSea. Over the past 90 days, OpenSea reached a peak of $2.5 million in daily fees, whereas during the same period LooksRare only earned over $200,000 in daily fees once.

Fees earned by LooksRare and OpenSea. Source: TokenTerminal

Investigating the protocol fundamentals mentioned by Hayes are an important first step when considering investing in DeFi and altcoin. Looking at the competitive landscape for both LooksRare and GMX, it would take much more adoption for either protocol to overtake the current leaders. Furthermore, the 20% goal Hayes sets out might be a stretch when analyzing inflated emissions and token prices.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors’ alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

How can UK-based businesses accept Bitcoin?

Through Bitcoin payment processors like BitPay, businesses in the UK can offer BTC as a payment method during checkout.

What are the pros and cons of accepting Bitcoin payments?

Accepting Bitcoin payments is advantageous due to lower fees than credit and debit cards, expansion of customer base and real-time bank balances. However, risks like volatility and cybercrime may undermine these benefits.

Cryptocurrency payments help save excessive credit and debit card processing fees as they are decentralized and do not need intermediaries to verify the transaction. Moreover, merchants do not incur overseas currency exchange changes if payments are made in BTC or other cryptocurrencies.

High transaction speed is another benefit of accepting Bitcoin payments, allowing businesses to receive payments in real-time. Moreover, with the increasing customer demand to pay in crypto, offering Bitcoin as a payment method will help acquire more shoppers.

However, accepting cryptocurrency payments impose tax implications on businesses. For instance, any earnings from cryptocurrency as income will be subject to income tax: a beginning rate of 19% and an intermediate rate of 21% for residents in Scotland, or 0% to 45%, depending on one’s tax band in Wales, England and Northern Ireland.

Another negligible point while considering accepting Bitcoin payments is the volatile nature of the crypto market, i.e., sharp and abrupt price movements might result from unanticipated shifts in market sentiment.

Additionally, hackers can steal funds from cryptocurrency wallets using tricks like sending phishing emails or redirecting victims to fake websites. Therefore, any business that wants to accept BTC or other cryptocurrencies as payment methods should assess the risks and returns before making any decision.

What can you buy with Bitcoin in the United Kingdom?

One can make Bitcoin payments to buy a cup of coffee, pizza, cosmetics, cars, mobile phones and flight tickets.

Bitcoin debit cards that are similar to prepaid cards allow cryptocurrency enthusiasts to make payments in BTC. Retailers are paid in cash in their local currency, for instance, the Great British pound in the United Kingdom, if customers make payments in BTC in person or online. That said, Bitcoin debit cards function like traditional credit cards for payment purposes.

Moreover, a U.K.-based prepaid cryptocurrency Mastercard called CoinJar card can be used at any merchant site that accepts Google Pay or Apple Pay to make purchases. In addition, one can use their physical CoinJar card in locations that do not yet accept contactless payments.

Related: How to pay your bills with cryptocurrency?

Other popular ways to spend Bitcoin in the U.K. involve donating it to charity, buying advanced mining equipment or purchasing additional BTC or altcoins to grow an investment portfolio. However, the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) are unlikely to be accessible to anyone making a Bitcoin payment in the United Kingdom, according to the Financial Conduct Authority. This implies that if something goes wrong with their purchase, they probably won’t get compensation or a resolution.

A free and simple-to-use service called the Financial Ombudsman Service handles disputes between customers and companies that offer financial assistance. Similarly, customers of authorized financial services companies are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which is a legal deposit insurance and investors compensation scheme in the United Kingdom. This means that FSCS may pay compensation if a firm cannot pay claims against it or is likely unable to do so.

Who accepts Bitcoin in the United Kingdom?

United Kingdom companies that accept Bitcoin include Lush, Etsy, Microsoft, Shopify, CheapAir and others.

Lush, a cosmetics company established in the U.K., accepts BTC payments to increase the number of available payment methods worldwide. But does Amazon accept Bitcoin in the U.K.? And how do businesses accept Bitcoin payments?

Bitcoin payments are not directly accepted by Amazon. However, it is possible to buy Amazon gift cards that may be used to make purchases on the Amazon UK website through Bitcoin payment service providers like BitPay and CoinGate.

Similar to Amazon, Lush accepts crypto payments in the U.K. via BitPay. Users usually need to go through basic steps as follows:

  • Select BitPay during checkout.
  • Get the BitPay Wallet app or connect your preferred wallet.
  • Choose Bitcoin from the available options.
  • To finish your transaction, manually enter the transaction details or scan the QR code.
  • One will be able to track their order in their wallet’s purchases.

If someone wants to buy an Xbox gift card with crypto, they will need to follow the below steps:

  • Download the BitPay app or BitPay extension.
  • Select a gift card to purchase.
  • Decide how much money you want to put on the gift card.
  • Pay for your gift card with Bitcoin.
  • After payment is verified, you will receive your gift card instantly for use at the Microsoft Store, on Xbox or on Windows.

On the contrary, although Etsy does not have its own platform for accepting Bitcoin as payment, independent merchants using Etsy are free to offer BTC as a payment method option during checkout. Similarly, in the e-commerce world, Shopify allows online sellers to accept crypto payments in the United Kingdom.

Other companies like CheapAir, eBay and Starbucks also accept BTC or payments in other cryptocurrencies via Bitcoin payment service providers, and the steps are almost similar as mentioned above.

Is Bitcoin legal in the United Kingdom?

No specific regulations govern trading and investment in Bitcoin. However, United Kingdom residents can transact using Bitcoin.

Unlike El Salvador, which considers Bitcoin (BTC) to be a legal tender, cryptocurrencies are not treated as currency in the United Kingdom. Instead, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) categorized cryptocurrencies as digital or crypto assets, which may be liable to capital gains tax or income tax, depending on the circumstances.

One can trade BTC via cryptocurrency exchanges such as U.K.-based CEX.io or globally based Coinbase or Binance or through brokers like eToro. However, to register a cryptocurrency exchange in the U.K., the financial conduct authority (FCA) requires the business to establish a legal entity, get a registered office address, open a business bank account and register for taxation. After this, they will need to obtain a crypto exchange license by filling out an application form accessible on the FCA’s website and paying a registration fee.

So, can U.K.-based businesses accept Bitcoin? Yes, businesses can accept Bitcoin payments in the U.K. directly or indirectly via gift cards. However, it depends upon the customer base if they want to pay in crypto or fiat currencies.

How to talk to family members about crypto this Thanksgiving season

The Cointelegraph team has come up with a humorous guide for readers to employ with crypto skeptics and curious people while home during the holidays.

This week in the United States, millions of people comprising various political and financial backgrounds are traveling to see family members for the first time in months to celebrate Thanksgiving.

For crypto-minded individuals, questions about the market may come as quickly as “Why did you cut your hair?” or “Why didn’t you become a doctor?” — especially given the very public collapse of major exchange FTX and soured reputation of its former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried. The Cointelegraph team has put together a humorous “how to” guide for U.S. readers to reference when interacting with crypto skeptics and curious people while at home, though hodlers in other countries may find a few helpful tips as well.

“What’s an SBF?”

Despite all the three-letter acronyms they’ve heard on the news, family members might have a difficult time believing that the former CEO of FTX is not, in fact, a ticker symbol — though someone did launch an SBF Goes to Prison (SBFP) token on Nov. 21 that has fared slightly better than the exchange and its leadership, dropping more than 66% in price. “SBF” stands for “Sam Bankman-Fried,” who led the now infamous FTX to become one of the most prominent companies in the crypto space before its bankruptcy.

Bankman-Fried resigned on Nov. 11, the same day FTX filed for bankruptcy. He currently resides in the Bahamas, and there has been no shortage of stories and rumors about the former executive and his relationship with staff. SBF might be extradited to the United States to face questioning by government officials and potential criminal charges.

“Why didn’t you make money from those cartoon monkeys?”

Many in the crypto space and beyond have suggested that the nonfungible token, or NFT, market is in a bubble, but use cases for the technology go far beyond projects like Bored Ape Yacht Club — which is responsible for many of the images family members see when NFT stories go mainstream. Explaining that NFTs can provide authentication for digital and physical products may seem less important than swiping the last of the sweet potatoes from the dinner table, but if readers are looking for a relatable example to use at home, try this:

“I heard Elizabeth Warren say crypto is going to ruin the economy”

Whatever your political leanings may be, no one can deny that Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren is among the loudest anti-crypto voices in Congress. In a Nov. 22 Wall Street Journal op-ed, the Massachusetts senator said the situation with FTX should be a “wake-up call” for regulators to enforce laws on the crypto industry in addition to associating digital assets with money laundering and ransomware attacks. Many in the space have criticized the senator for taking an “all or nothing” approach to digital assets, often failing to distinguish between front-facing centralized exchanges and decentralized projects building on the blockchain.

Despite the current crypto bear market, many industry proponents are not causing their companies to fold, cashing in all their digital asset holdings and burning any merch bearing the Bitcoin (BTC) logo. In fact, many experts agree that the state of crypto regulation and legislation in the United States needs to be addressed soon. And had there been more regulatory oversight of Bankman-Fried and FTX, the resulting market impact might have been less severe.

Politicians from across the spectrum, including Texas Senator Ted Cruz and former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, have openly supported crypto and blockchain, but their parents probably don’t ask them when they’re going to “get a real job” over the holidays.

Several Cointelegraph team members contributed to this article.

World population reaches 8 billion, but how many are in crypto?

The United Nations tipped the global population to tick over to 8 billion on Nov. 15, while the next billion isn’t coming for another 15 years.

The global population figure has just reached a huge milestone, with 8 billion souls now sharing the planet. Meanwhile, crypto adoption continues to grow. 

According to Worldometer, which draws estimates from a 2022 United Nations report, the global population ticked over 8 billion on Nov. 15, doubling from a population count of 4 billion in 1974 — some 48 years ago.

Worldometer said that as of 2022, the population’s annual growth rate sits at around 0.84% but will continue to slow. This could mean it could take another 15 years for the world’s population to reach 9 billion, while the population won’t hit 10 billion until 2080.

China and India are the two most populous countries, with almost 36% of the global population between them.

However, there currently doesn’t exist a consensus around how much of the world’s population currently holds digital assets such as cryptocurrency, with estimates varying. 

Market research firm GWI suggests that as much as 10.2% of global internet users aged 16 to 64 own crypto, with most ownership skewed toward nations experiencing high inflation or fluctuation in the value of their national fiat. 

Singapore-based blockchain firm TripleA estimated that as of 2022, the global crypto ownership rate is around 4.2%, with over 320 million crypto users worldwide. It reported that the United States was top with 46 million crypto holders, followed by India, Pakistan and Nigeria.

In June, Blockware Intelligence predicts that Bitcoin adoption alone will hit 10% worldwide by 2030, as reported by Cointelegraph earlier this year.

Earlier this year, Chainalysis ranked 146 countries in five categories in its 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index. It found that Vietnam led the pack for overall adoption rates, followed by the Philippines, India, Ukraine and the United States. However, the report did not suggest actual ownership figures.

Related: Global crypto adoption could ‘soon hit a hyper-inflection point’

China, however, remains a difficult country to ascertain the level of crypto ownership. A large portion of people in the world’s most populous country is understood to be tech-savvy and hungry for crypto.

However, the ruling regime has other ideas at the moment. No accurate crypto ownership figures are available.

Crypto adoption will inevitably continue to grow across the planet so we’ll round off with happy birthday, global citizen number 8,000,000,000.

Update (Nov. 16, 11:05 PM UTC): Figures incorrectly citing that 10.2% of the global populace owned crypto corrected to 10.2% of internet users aged 16 to 64.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wins Brazil’s presidential race — What does this mean for crypto?

The future president reportedly said that cryptocurrencies “deserved the attention of authorities,” calling for Brazil’s central bank to create a framework for digital assets.

In a close race with outgoing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, also known simply as “Lula,” won the country’s presidential election following a run-off race.

According to data from Tribunal Superior Eleitoral, Lula defeated Bolsonaro in an Oct. 30 run-off election with 50.9% of the vote — roughly 60.3 million people to the soon-to-be former president’s 58.2 million. Though the election outcome showed Lula has the right to take office starting in January 2023, reports have suggested that Bolsonaro may intend to challenge the results.

Lula, who also served as the president of Brazil from 2003 to 2010, reportedly said in October that cryptocurrencies “deserved the attention of authorities,” calling for the country’s central bank to create a framework for digital assets aligned with international standards on Anti-Money Laundering and illicit practices. He is also allied with former central bank president Henrique Meirelles, who took an advisory role at crypto exchange Binance in September but reportedly may be considering a position in Lula’s government.

During his presidential campaign, Lula announced that his plan for Brazil’s government had been registered on the Decred blockchain as an example of “an innovative and incorruptible technology of records distributed by computers around the world that is also behind Bitcoin.” However, the future president has largely not publicly spoken on crypto and blockchain.

Related: Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro will accept crypto-payments for property taxes

Cointelegraph reported that more than 12,000 Brazil-based companies held crypto as of August, suggesting that digital assets may play a larger role in the country’s economy in the future. Some lawmakers have also proposed bills aimed at making crypto payments legal in Brazil.

Pro-crypto city of Lugano and El Salvador sign economic agreement based on adoption

As part of the agreement, El Salvador will establish a physical government presence in an effort to “foster cooperation with educational and research institutions.”

Switzerland’s southern city of Lugano and El Salvador have signed an economic cooperation agreement based on crypto and blockchain.

According to an Oct. 28 announcement from Lugano, the two pro-crypto jurisdictions signed a memorandum of understanding on economic cooperation at the city’s Plan B event. Lugano Mayor Michele Foletti cited El Salvador adopting Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender as part of the city’s interest in the agreement, which will allow the pro-crypto country to establish a physical government presence in an effort to “foster cooperation with educational and research institutions.”

“The use of Bitcoin and Blockchain technology creates new opportunities for growth and investment that benefit our communities; it is a new alternative financial and exchange tool that fosters trade and the provision of services in a globalized world,” said Joaquín Alexander Maza Martelli, El Salvador’s ambassador to the United Nations Office in Geneva. “With this agreement, El Salvador is now much closer to Europe.”

Speaking to Cointelegraph at the Plan B event, former Blockstream chief strategy officer Samson Mow said the agreement was the “next step” in nation-states and cities adopting BTC:

“[El Salvador and Lugano are] going to start working together and collaborating on joint initiatives. I think that’s the way we push each other forward — basically create alliances between places that have adopted Bitcoin.”

Stablecoin issuer Tether, which announced in March it would create a fund of up to 100 million Swiss francs to help finance blockchain-based startups in Lugano, supported the agreement in an Oct. 28 blog post. Chief technology officer Paolo Ardoino said Tether would “stand ready to help however we can.”

Related: McDonald’s starts to accept Bitcoin and Tether in Swiss town

As part of the Plan B initiative, Lugano plans to allow residents to use BTC, Tether (USDT) and LVGA tokens as “de facto” legal tender in many shops and businesses in the area, as well as for paying taxes, parking tickets, public services and tuition fees. In El Salvador, BTC has been accepted as legal tender since the adoption of the country’s Bitcoin Law in September 2021.