Today we discuss the Altcoins market, the stand Monero and SiaCoin have taken against ASIC mining, the recent legalization of cryptocurrency, ICOs and Smart Contracts in Belarus and so much more.
Monero & SiaCoin Against ASIC Mining
After Bitmain released the ASIC-powered Antminer X3 (which was designed to mine with the algorithm used by Monero) Riccardo Spagni, project lead of Monero, tweeted that this will not work on Monero. According to Spagni, the plan will consist of changing their PoW algorithm to purposely avoid ASIC mining. The ASIC resistance imposed by Monero preserves their privacy-centered system and maintains it as decentralized. Additionally, SiaCoin announced that they would invalidate A3 miners via soft-fork unless Bitmain behaves. In other words, if Bitmain takes any action to harm the Sia Project, they will soft-fork to invalidate their hardware.
Monero’s project lead has made it clear that they plan on fighting any type of potential centralization of their platform, and they will not hesitate to fight any others who make an attempt against what they stand for: a truly decentralized coin. ASIC Antminers have shown an impressive increase in their prices through the last few years ever since the beginning of Bitcoin Mining, where one could cost up to $1,000, but now, as their technology gets more accurate and so does the demand and supply, they’ve got a whole batch ready to go out at the impressive amount of $11,000 per unit. Antminers represent at least 14% of the hash rate in Bitcoins according to blockchain.info.
Belarus Legalizes Cryptocurrency
The President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, just signed a decree legalizing cryptocoins, ICOs and Smart Contracts. The decree authorizes legal entities and individual residents of the High Technology Park (HTP) to operate with tokens (including cryptocoins). Furthermore, the decree doesn’t imply any restriction or special conditions to the creation, storing, usage and exchange of cryptocoins, ICOs or Smart Contracts. Belarus has now become the first country to provide Smart Contracts with a legal status, making it possible for developers in this industry to work on further developments.
It’s a step towards the future, as many community members have pointed out. Belarus is taking the lead by allowing their own technological district to use this industry in a legal way, backed up by the government, which will help with the general development of the market and further technologies based on blockchain.
The German Tourist Board Proposes Payment In Cryptocoins
The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) announced their willingness to start accepting payments in cryptocurrencies. Authorities affiliated with the GNTB communicated their plans on implementation, which would first occur within the GNTB itself to review progress. This decision will boost tourism economics within the country while providing an additional payment method, which could be faster, safer and more effective. The GNTB believes that blockchain could bring an interesting perspective to financial transactions while providing a new savings mechanism for its users.
The GNTB is betting on cryptocurrencies to attract tourists into their market by increasing their target audience. We’ve seen other countries such as Russia trying to apply the same line of policies for tourists, which could really pay off. Those policies will definitely make blockchain technology more relevant and will serve as fuel for further blockchain-based developments in the tourism industry.
CHIA, The Eco-Friendly Cryptocoin Of BitTorrent
Ryan Singer, the CEO of Chia, the coin developed by BitTorrent, just announced their plans for a mini IPO this summer to crowdfund the development of the cryptocoin. Last year, the CEO of BitTorrent announced their plans to develop Chia, a cryptocurrency which could dethrone Bitcoin, given their lower energy consumption capabilities. The initiative is looking to avoid any issues with the SEC, which is why they’ve opted for a crowdfunding equity mechanism regulated in the A+ JOBs Act. This will allow them to obtain up to $50 million in financing from amateur investors. The offer will be public, where people can join an auction, deciding how much they’d be willing to pay for their share.
Bram Cohen, the creator of BitTorrent, has been incredibly critical of Bitcoin and the centralization of it. He plans on working alongside Singer to improve Bitcoin and perhaps replace it. As an example, part of the plan is to use Proof of Space and Proof of Time instead of Proof of Work, which is used by Bitcoin. This would provide incredible security and reduce the environmental impact of the mining industry.
Ripple Donated An Impressive Amount In Crypto To Public Schools
It’s been reported that Ripple donated the equivalent to $29 million dollars in XRP to more than 35.000 schools in the US after thousands of teachers asked for support in various projects for their students through a donations platform called DonorsChoose.org. After being overwhelmed by the amount of teachers requesting donations for their students, Charles Best, CEO of DonorsChoose, decided to write Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, and ask him for support. Garlinghouse couldn’t refuse and decided to donate the biggest amount in cryptocoin yet.
This action shows what cryptocurrencies could do for today’s world. The amount of money donated will help teachers all around the United States to provide their classrooms with better equipment to improve learning techniques and implement a good education to their students.
Altcoins Are Having A Rough Path
No different to Bitcoin (BTC), the Altcoins market suffered the downfall of a general market. Ethereum (ETH) started the week at $530 and it all went down from there. By the weekend, it had lost more than $100 of its value, closing just below $400. Ripple (XRP) started the week at 0.65c and lost almost 15 cent throughout the week. Bitcoin Cash (BTH) tried to hold at the $900 mark but couldn’t, closing the week just below $700. Litecoin (LTC) started off $162 and closed around $115.
A few coins fought the battle and showed improvement, which could be due to a strong community: Bytom (BTM) went from 0.38c to 0.53c and XPA (XPA went from 0.070c to 0.30c.) The market in general is not at its best and we may have to continue facing this behavior for a few more weeks. To see current prices click here.
