Bitcoin block #689.301 took over 2 hours to confirm, making it the slowest Bitcoin block in the past 10 years. This and more news in this handy daily summary so that you are always informed with the most recent events that occur within the crypto world.
Cryptocurrencies and altcoins
📍Block #689.301 of the Bitcoin blockchain is the slowest block on the network in the last 10 years. As shown by Blockchain.com's explorer, Bitcoin block #689.301 took 139 minutes to confirm, a difference of 2 hours and 19 minutes from its predecessor, making it the slowest Bitcoin block in the past 10 years.
Source: Blockchain.com
These days, the hash rate de Bitcoin (BTC) is at one of its lowest levels for 14 months. Recently, Bitcoin's hash rate fell to XNUMX 90 PE/s, which caused the block confirmation to be delayed. However, at the time of writing, the network's block confirmation time has been reduced to an average of 20 minutes per block.
Bitcoin and Blockchain Adoption
📍Point72 Asset Management, one of the largest hedge funds in the United States, is interested in cryptocurrencies. The Street publication notes that Point72 is hiring a director or “head of crypto,” possibly because it plans to invest part of its capital in these digital assets. According to the publication, Point72 Asset manages assets worth more than $22.000 billion, so an entry into the world of crypto assets, with a small percentage of investment, would be a great bullish boost for the market.
📍Prime Experiences company begins accepting Bitcoin payments. Prime Experiences, dedicated to the rental of luxury yachts, announced that its clients can now pay for their rentals using bitcoins. In the release The company said that transactions with the cryptocurrency will be available to around 1.400 people in Miami (United States) this year. The company expects a 40% growth in payments in bitcoin.
In addition, Prime Experiences revealed its growth projections and stated that it will open to new maritime markets, such as Cartagena (Colombia), Cancun (Mexico) and Barcelona (Spain), next year.
📍The San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs Association (SFDSA), United States, joins the Bitcoin investment movement. The SFDSA reported that 10 of 15 members of its Board of Directors approved holding bitcoins as part of their investments, due to the potential for growth and appreciation that the cryptocurrency offers in the long term. According to the release, the agency has been investing in Bitcoin since mid-April.
CBDC and Central Banks
📍Ukraine launches new law, putting its future CBDC on par with fiat money and electronic payments. The Supreme Soviet of Ukraine approved a new payments law that recognizes the digital hryvnia, its future CBDC, as an electronic currency that will function alongside bank accounts, electronic payments, and even fiat money. The digital hryvnia has been in development since 2018, although the National Bank of Ukraine, the country's central bank and the one in charge of issuing money, has not made significant progress in its development compared to other countries.
Development and Technology
📍Dogecoin (DOGE) developers will introduce a protocol improvement proposal to reduce fees. The Dogecoin Improvement Proposal #2347, available on the GitHub repository, seeks to implement a new fee structure and policy for the Dogecoin network, to reduce transaction fee costs. Currently, the minimum relay fees are 1 DOGE, while the proposal seeks to reduce them to 0,001 DOGE.
As the proposal explains, the new structure will be activated within the protocol gradually, through different versions of the software. The proposal was presented by Dogecoin's main developer, Patrick Lodder, who considers reducing fees as something vital for the scalability and accessibility of the network, considering the potential growth in value of the cryptocurrency in the long term.
📍Institutional investors are showing increased interest in the cryptocurrency industry. TracerDAO has just closed a funding round for 4,5 million dollars, with the participation of firms such as Framework Ventures, Maven 11, DACM and Apollo Capital. The decentralized platform, which offers cryptocurrency derivatives, reported that it will use the resources to expand its product and service offering and hire qualified personnel.
In mid-June, the DAO BitDAO BitDAO also closed a successful funding round, raising $230 million in value. BitDAO will use the funds to expand the decentralized finance ecosystem (DeFi). Companies such as Founders Fund, Pantera Capital, Dragonfly Capital, Spartan Group, among others, participated in this round.
Cybersecurity
📍Microsoft executive Tom Burt said the U.S. government requests information from Microsoft users up to 3.600 times a year. According to statements The House Judiciary Committee requests data and information from Microsoft customers and users between seven and 7 times a day, amounting to more than 10 requests for information a year. Brut also noted that the number of confidentiality orders that federal law enforcement agencies have presented to them has increased since 3.600.
The company noted that requests for sensitive information and data by authorities have become abusive practices. Microsoft is developing a solution for decentralized identifiers called ION. This solution, as reported Bit2Me News is based on the Bitcoin blockchain and seeks to provide a high level of security and privacy so that users can interact reliably and safely.
Rules and Regulations
📍The United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) prioritizes financial crimes involving cryptocurrencies. The authority, attached to the country's Treasury Department, said which prioritizes the monitoring and tracking of cryptocurrency and digital asset transactions to minimize the risks of financial crimes, such as money laundering or terrorist financing.
📍Kazakhstan announces new energy tariffs for cryptocurrency miners. The country has become one of the favorite destinations for cryptocurrency miners leaving China, so the government approved a new law “on taxes and other mandatory payments” for those engaged in this activity in the country. According to the law, from January 2022, miners must pay an additional energy fee per kilowatt/hour.
Continue reading: 650 US banks and institutions will allow 24 million customers to buy Bitcoin
