The Ethereum merger is thrown, Binance imposes its law on stablecoins whose USDC; Celsius a shipwreck announced long-standing; the mining forced to green, Puma quickdraw metaverse and NFT… Back to the crypto news of the week.
It was the hit of the summer. And investors and speculators have not missed it. Among crypto news aficionados, no one is unaware of the long-awaited ethereum mergerWhere The Merge, is imminent. In truth, it even kicked off this week with the activation of the Bellatrix update. The next major milestone is scheduled for next week, around September 15.
The Ethereum v1 and v2 chains, to put it simply, will become one and the public blockchain will then switch from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake. For users, the effects will be little visible at first, especially in terms of transaction processing speed. On the plan environmental, the benefit is on the other hand very significant. Energy consumption must drop by more than 90%.
Ethereum 2.0: a giant step, but only one step
Ethereum will thus become the first reference blockchain to switch from PoW to PoS. This could also relaunch the encouragement addressed to the Bitcoin community so that it in turn undertakes such a migration. This would allow it to reduce its energy footprint.
Greenpeace and Chris Larsen, co-founder and president of Ripple, are thus supporters of such a project. The mining industry, which is making significant investments to boost its infrastructure, certainly does not share this proposition. She’s not the only one. The criticism of Ethereum comes from the Bitcoin ecosystem and its maximalists. Vitalik Buterin did not hesitate to answer them, denouncing shameless lies. PoS is only one step for Ethereum, however. Its co-founder estimates that the network will be 55% complete after The Merge. Other developments are to come. Let’s just hope that they will be implemented sooner.
Towards greener mining in the United States?
This year, President Biden unveiled his policy on crypto-assets. In this context, he commissioned a study on environmental impact of this new asset class. The report came out this week. Without denying the benefits of crypto and blockchain, the document also highlights its ecological and energy cost. And he is not neutral. Activity related to crypto-assets thus generates 0.4% to 0.8% of greenhouse gas emissions in the US.
If the United States want to meet their targets in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, action will have to be taken. The rapporteurs propose in particular to define objectives for reducing consumption and emissions, the implementation of standards and a real policy of digital sobriety. What if the results weren’t there? It may be necessary to impose measures by law.
Binance imposes BUSD… for the good of all
From September 29, Binance will automatically convert its users’ balances and deposits in USD Coin (USDC), TrueUSD (TUSD) and Pax Dollar (USDP) stablecoins to BUSD. Has the exchange decided to impose its token by force and pull the rug out from under the feet of USDC, which is ever closer to Tether (USDT)?
This is not the primary purpose of this new policy, welcomed by the CEO of Circle, the USDC issuer. This will have the advantage ofincrease dollar liquidity, which will cease to be segmented into different stablecoins. This way it will be “easier and more interesting to transfer US dollars to and from Binance to trade on the main markets”. As for USDT, it could be the main loser. And it’s not Circle who will complain about it.
Celsius: between dreams, fantasies and reality
Alex Mashinsky has often been rave about his society, its development and its ability to offer lucrative returns to its users. The scullery of the centralized crypto platform is less rosy, however. This is illustrated by the report submitted by an American regulator, involved in the bankruptcy proceedings currently Celsius.
On several occasions, representatives of the firm have praised its financial solidity, even ensuring that it was profitable. However, according to accounting data, Celsius had just incurred very large losses. As early as 2020, the company was faltering, finally saved in 2021 by the price boom. With their fall and the bear market, the whole pyramid collapsed. And this building could even have held Ponzi for the American authority. She suggests that over a period, Celsius may have paid user yield through assets contributed by new customers.
The bear to clean up an increasingly mature market
$14.2 billion. This is the amount invested in the first half of 2022 in crypto businesses according to KPMG. This is more than in previous years, despite the slowdown. At least with the exception of 2021, an exceptional year. The trend is no longer the same now.
KPMG warns: companies will raise less funds and for lower valuations. And that’s not a bad thing. The firm believes that this context will favor the most successful players. The good ones will survive. For the others ? It will be more complicated. Something to clean up some of the mess created in the euphoria of the bull market. On good terms…
Fashion Week: Puma offers a getaway in the metaverse
no way for Puma to let Adidas and Nike venture into the world of NFTs and metaverse. And as for the previous Fashion Weekthis major fashion event, which is being held in New York this week, is an opportunity to make Web3 ads. During the previous edition, French brands such as IKKS and Monnier Paris opened virtual stands in Decentraland.
For the event, Puma launched an immersive website using Unreal Engine 5. Owners of its NFT Nitropass will be the big winners of this online meeting. They will be able to receive two other NFTs, one of which will allow them to acquire a new shoe model of their choice. Like other companies, Puma intends to increase its maturity in the metaverse. But the path is strewn with pitfalls. The IMAgine Day on October 12 will be an opportunity to gather valuable advice to meet this challenge.
Also not to be missed:
- Vasil: Cardano confirms a new date for its update
- The team launches NFT on the occasion of the Ballon d’Or
- Saudi Arabia (finally) decided to make a name for itself in crypto
- NFT Unicorn Sorare takes up basketball with the NBA
- Franklin Templeton launches an ETF to bet on the metaverse
Every Sunday morning on Coins.fr, find the “Crypto Recap”, a section bringing together the main news of the week.
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