Derivatives exchange CME Group announces new Bitcoin micro futures for May, as Ethereum Foundation's Aya Miyaguchi says scaling and maintaining decentralization is hard work. These and more news in this practical daily summary so that you are always informed with the most recent events that occur within the crypto world.
Bitcoin and Blockchain Adoption
📍CME Group announces the launch of bitcoin micro futures that may attract more investors looking to bet on the future price of Bitcoin. The world's largest derivatives exchange will expand its suite of crypto derivatives with the introduction of a new micro Bitcoin futures contract on May 3.
Micro Bitcoin futures will be one-tenth the size of a bitcoin, the company said, adding that these products will retain the features and benefits of standard Bitcoin futures.
📍The music school Morningside School of Music Edinburgh University has announced that it will begin accepting payments in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, pleasing its students and clients who have been demanding the introduction of cryptoassets as a means of payment.
On its Twitter account, the music school noted that it is the first in Edinburgh and Scotland to accept Bitcoin payments. Morningside School of Music stated that it had been using Bitcoins in the past to purchase products, so it was already finding it useful to receive the cryptocurrency as a means of payment.
📍The BY Mellon, the oldest bank in the United States and the world that has been interested in Bitcoin for some time, published a report where it expresses its need to calculate the value of Bitcoin in the future. The entity noted that it is important to consider the value of alternative currencies, such as Bitcoin, as the cryptocurrency grows in adoption and becomes more scarce in the markets.
BY Mellon believes that Bitcoin fits the definition of “currency” as it is considered a store of value and a medium of exchange. However, as a global, decentralized digital currency without a banking or financial entity backing it, its valuation model is different from that of traditional currencies; therefore, applying conventional currency models to Bitcoin will be wrong, the bank says.
NFT and DeFi Markets
📍The metaverse decentral games has reported on its blog that it is looking for staff to work as a digital host within the virtual platform. In its publication, the platform for the digital casinos Chateau Satoshi, Tominoya and Serenity Island, points out that those interested in joining the Decentral Games team must, among other things, know how the casino works, as well as speak English and be available 24 hours a week to do their job. The remuneration for hosting is quite good, as Decentral Games offers $500 per month as payment, in the stablecoin DAI.
“We are hiring Spanish speakers to work as hosts in our casinos!” Decentral Games announced.
The role of the hosts will be the same as that of a traditional casino: to help, guide and advise new members of the community.
📍The musical band Gorillaz wants to celebrate its 20th anniversary with the launch of several products, including an NFT. The group's statements sparked controversy among some of its fans who remember a song produced by the band in 2010 where it talks about protecting the environment. Fans believe that the launch of a non-fungible token causes damage to the planet due to energy consumption and carbon footprint. However, although the band has not made any statements on the matter, there are many blockchains that operate under the PoS protocol, which allow the creation and maintenance of these tokens with fairly low energy consumption.
Development and Technology
📍Ethereum is moving towards its next update, Ethereum 2.0, however, ensuring the decentralization of the network remains a challenge for developers. According to statements from Aya Miyaguchi, executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, scaling the network and ensuring decentralization at the same time is “hard work.”
What we inspect with the "El Bailador" road simulator: interviewMiyaguchi noted that Ethereum's priority is to abandon proof-of-work (PoW) by the proof of participation (PoS), and make the network much more scalable and efficient for all the applications that run on it and for the users, but it is also about guaranteeing its decentralization, ensuring that the governance of ETH is not left in the hands of a few.
Regulations
📍The state of Iowa, United States, recognizes smart contracts (smart contracts) into their legislation. According to the draft law, smart contracts will be recognized and valid for legal purposes, and their enforceability will not be denied solely because the contract is a smart contract or because it contains a smart contract provision.
📍The UK tax department, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), updated Your Tax Guide to Incorporating Digital Assets Earned on Platforms and Networks staking (staking). The tax authority considers it necessary to make its approach known and to help individuals, investors and companies understand the tax consequences of the different types of transactions carried out with cryptoassets, including staking.
📍John Glenn, Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Affairs, said During the City & Financial conference, the UK will focus its first regulations on the financial sector. stablecoins, stablecoins, rather than starting with the broader world of cryptocurrencies in general.
Glen noted that the country is prioritizing regulation of stablecoins, given the possibility that companies like Facebook will launch a global digital currency, which could disrupt the financial and monetary stability of governments and central banks.
“There is the potential for some companies to quickly achieve dominance and displace other players, due to their ability to scale and connect to existing online services… We need to manage the risks of competition.”
Continue reading: VISA begins accepting cryptocurrency payment settlements
