Australians can now buy Bitcoin and Ether at over 3500 post offices View in browser

“Bitcoin is becoming more like gold in an increasingly favorable macroeconomic environment for the quasi-currencies, and we believe it will continue outperforming most peers. ” ~ Bloomberg Crypto Outlook report

Market State

The cryptocurrency market is once again heading in an upward direction. Bitcoin started the first week of July with a brief drop reaching a low of $8800 then quickly climbed back to $9190. Cryptocurrency market is known for its extreme volatility. However, over the past few weeks, volatility has dropped to historically low levels. Both Bitcoin and Ether 30-day volatility index reached its lowest level in comparison to historical values. Ether’s volatility even dropped below Bitcoin's for the first time ever. 

Investors often turn to altcoins when Bitcoin trades in a tight range, which is what is happening right now in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. DeFi space has now become the quickest growing sector in the crypto industry. The total value locked (TVL) in various DeFi protocols has just hit an all-time high of $2.1 billion, which is the total amount that has been locked up in smart contracts by users of DeFi platforms. In February 2020, just about five months ago TVL reached $1 billion for the first time. The surge in the DeFi market appears to be the direct result of DeFi's so-called yield farmers, when people lock their funds in various DeFi protocols such as Compound, Synthetix, Balancer, and Curve to earn the highest possible yield.

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Quiz of the week

How many Ethers are issued per block currently?

  1. 50 Ethers
  2. 5 Ethers
  3. 2 Ethers

Scroll down to see the answer at the end of the newsletter.

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Top stories of the week
Austria Enables Crypto Payments In Over 2,500 Stores

Starting from this summer Bitcoin, Ether and Dash owners can spend their coins at more than 2,500 merchants in Austria. The Austrian payment processor Salamantex announced that its Crypto Payment Service Software is now integrated into A1 Payment, a service provided by one of the largest mobile network operators in the country. Austrian merchants can offer crypto payment options and accept cryptocurrencies alongside cash and credit card. However they receive euro therefore does not incur any exchange rate or currency risk.

The Salamantex team also mentioned that Austrians have a high affinity for cash. However, due to the coronavirus outbreak, use of cash declined significantly as people were called upon by the government and retailers to primarily switch to cashless payment transactions as far as possible. The Crypto Payment Service Software developed by Salamantex is designed to be integrated into existing payment processes used by the merchants. Merchants can order this payment feature from A1 Payment and test it. Salamantex is also planning to expand it’s crypto payment services to neighboring countries.

Number of Cryptocurrency Investors Almost Doubled in United Kingdom

A recent market research note published on the 30th of June, 2020, by the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority estimated that 1.9 million people (3.86% of the adult population) in the country currently own cryptocurrencies. The research also found out that the number of UK residents who held cryptocurrencies at some point in time rose from 1.5 million in 2019 to 2.6 million in 2020. Most cryptocurrency owners held less than £260 worth of cryptocurrencies, while 75% held less than £1000 and 90% claimed £4,300 or less.

According to the research most people who own cryptocurrencies in the UK have high technical knowledge about them and understand the high volatility and have some understanding of the underlying technology. 83% of the 2132 people surveyed said that they use foreign crypto exchanges. Awareness of the cryptocurrency industry has also improved. This year 27% had never heard of cryptocurrencies, compared to 58% in the 2019 research, which means those who are aware of cryptocurrencies have increased from 42% to 73% in 2020.

The FCA noted it is working with the government and Bank of England as part of the U.K. Cryptoassets Taskforce to tackle crypto-related consumer risks while encouraging innovation.

Australians Can Buy Bitcoin and Ether at 3500 Post Offices Nationwide

Australians can now buy Bitcoin and Ether at more than 3500 national post offices, thanks to a collaboration between Australia Post and Bitcoin.com.au, a cryptocurrency exchange. Crypto purchases will be facilitated by Bitcoin.com.au. First, users place Bitcoin or Ether orders via Bitcoin.com.au for a minimum of AUS$50 and a maximum of AU$50,000 and provide necessary identity information online. Then the user can then visit a local post office and make payment using bank cards or cash.

Holger Arians, CEO of Bitcoin.com.au said “This is a major milestone for digital currency in Australia and around the world. It proves that there are established businesses and organizations that want to learn about new technologies by doing, and not by blocking.” He also added “Our mission is to make Bitcoin safe and easy for every Australian. For many people, paying for Bitcoin at an Australia Post office feels safer than transferring funds online — particularly for first-time buyers. We’re proud of this partnership and would like to thank Australia Post for its continued openness to new technologies.”

Artists and Influencers Are Tokenizing Themselves On Ethereum

More and more content creators are tokenizing themselves on the Ethereum blockchain. Roll is a decentralized platform, where individuals are creating so-called “social money” which are unique and branded fan-based tokens. Token creators can use it to reward their community and incentivize their fans for specific actions while fans can use it to buy goods or services from the token creator or even vote on creator’s major life decisions such as purchasing a car, wake up early or stop eating red meat.

Roll was launched in 2019 and funded by Arthur Hayes, the CEO of BitMEX, Gary Vaynerchuk, Techstars Ventures and more. Though the platform is still in private beta version, 160 social tokens have already been issued on the platform such as the $ALEX, the $KERMAN, and the $CALVIN, each representing an artist, influencer, or entrepreneur.

Tokens are created as ERC-20 tokens on behalf of the content creators. All social money minted on Roll has a maximum supply of 10 million ERC-20 tokens, 2 million of which is immediately credited to the content creator. The rest of 8 million is given to them in monthly lump sums for the next three years. Roll charges the content creator of each social money a fee of 12% of the maximum supply.

Once the social money’s issued, people can do whatever they want with it. Content creators can sell their crypto in token sales or distribute them to fans. For example: fans of Laurel Driskill, ASMR video creator, can now spend $50 worth of $TINGLES to ask her question, seek advice, or access her videos. For 1 $CNSL (about $230) fans can get an hour of consulting from Reuben Bramanathan, blockchain consultant and former Coinbase lawyer or can even get a flight for 500 $JULIEN with Julien Bouteloup, CEO Stake Capital, decentralized digital asset management platform and more.

Many content creators have been banned from YouTube and other platforms for violating guidelines. Bradley Miles, one of Roll’s co-founders, said “We’ve seen creators over the last few years become unsatisfied over the level of control they have over the platforms. ”Siddharth Kalla, another co-founder of Roll, commented “what we are most interested in is the creator should be able to own that relationship with the fans irrespective of the platform.”

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Quiz answer

How many Ethers are issued per block currently?

The correct answer is “C”.

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MrCoin Team

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