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Cryptocurrency is a non-legal monetary asset based on digital technology and blockchain, possessing the functions of a medium of exchange and a store of value. Cryptocurrency is a transaction medium that uses cryptographic principles to ensure transaction security and control the creation of transaction units. Cryptocurrency is a type of digital currency (or virtual currency). Bitcoin became the first decentralized cryptocurrency in 2009, after which the term “cryptocurrency” was more commonly used to refer to such designs. Since then, several similar cryptocurrencies have been created, and they are usually referred to as altcoins. Cryptocurrency is based on a decentralized consensus mechanism, in contrast to the banking financial system that relies on a centralized regulatory system.

Blockchain DeFi Exclusive High-frequency Terms

EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) is the environment for running smart contracts on Ethereum. It is the core underlying architecture to achieve cross-chain compatibility.

Layer2 is an expansion plan built on the Ethereum main network to reduce transaction costs and increase throughput.

ZK-Rollup is a Layer 2 technology that uses zero-knowledge proof to compress transaction data and has both high efficiency and security features.

DEX (Decentralized Exchange) is a decentralized exchange crypto asset trading platform that does not require an intermediary. Transactions are executed directly through smart contracts.

CEX (Centralized Exchange) is a centralized exchange trading platform operated by a third-party institution. Users need to custody assets, such as Binance and Coinbase.

Liquidity Pool is a capital pool stored in smart contracts, providing trading depth for DEX, and liquidity providers can receive a share of handling fees.

Yield Farming is a way for liquidity mining users to provide assets to the liquidity pool and obtain platform tokens and other rewards.

RWA (Real-World Assets) is a model that maps offline assets such as treasury bonds, real estate, and commodities to programmable tokens on the chain.

LST (Liquid Staking Token) is a tradable token obtained by users of liquid staking tokens after staking ETH and other assets, solving the lock-up restrictions of native staking.

EigenLayer Eigen layer Ethereum's re-pledge protocol allows validators to reuse pledged assets to provide security for other protocols.

Flash Loan is an unsecured instant loan that requires borrowing and repayment in the same transaction. It is often used for arbitrage.

Oracle Oracle is a bridge between blockchain and real-world data, providing external price, event and other information for smart contracts.

Impermanent Loss: The potential loss incurred by a liquidity provider due to price fluctuations of assets in the pool, compared to directly holding assets.

Governance Token is a token that gives holders the right to propose and vote, and is used to participate in the rule formulation and upgrade decisions of the DeFi protocol.

Cross-chain Bridge is a tool for asset transfer and data interoperability between different blockchains. It is the core infrastructure of cross-chain DeFi.

Ferrari’s First Electric Sports Car Is Named Luce, With Many Highlights In Interior And Interactive Design

Thanks to IT House netizen Ku for submitting clues!

IT House reported on February 9 that Ferrari officially announced today that its first electric sports car will be named "Luce" and announced the car's interior and human-computer interaction design, which it claims can bring an "exhilarating driving experience."

Ferrari Luce electric sports car interior design by Jonathan Ive and Marc Newson_luce

IT House here quotes an official press release. The car's name "Luce" comes from Italian, meaning "light" or "illumination", symbolizing Ferrari's firm direction towards the future. It also confirms the brand's new naming strategy and opens a new chapter for an important new member of the product line.

According to reports, this car was designed by former Apple chief design officer Jonathan Ive, known as the "father of the iPhone and iPad", and Mark Newson, the "Queen Designer" of Swarovski and Nike. The LoveFrom creative team founded by the two in San Francisco participated in the design of the car in all aspects.

luce_Ferrari Luce electric sports car interior design by Jonathan Ive and Marc Newson

In terms of interior, the cockpit of this car is designed as a simple and unified space. The software and hardware are developed simultaneously to keep the physical structure and UI interface highly consistent. It uses 100% recycled aluminum alloy, which is CNC machined from a single piece of aluminum. The surface is anodized. The glass is from Corning's "Gorilla" brand, which has high durability and scratch resistance.

In terms of software, the car's human-computer interaction interface adheres to the three core concepts of touch, clarity, and intuition. The team gave priority to physical buttons to enhance the interaction between people and the vehicle. The steering wheel uses a simplified three-frame structure, inspired by the wooden Nardi steering wheel of the 1950s and 1960s. The whole is divided into two control modules, similar to an F1 racing car, and is 400 grams lighter than a standard Ferrari steering wheel.

Ferrari Luce electric sports car interior design by Jonathan Ive and Marc Newson_luce

Walking into the car, you can find that the center console of this car has been specially designed. The industry's first color E-Ink screen key has the advantage of saving power. When the key is inserted into the center console, the color of the screen will change from yellow to black. The instrument panel and screen will light up at the same time, creating a comfortable atmosphere.

Ferrari Luce electric sports car interior design by Jonathan Ive and Marc Newson_luce

At the same time, this car has a total of three screens, one on the instrument panel, the center console, and the rear row. They are designed to provide a clear, clear, and separated input and output experience. The display fonts are all customized. The instrument panel screen has two overlapping OLED panels built into it. Samsung participated in the development, which can achieve high contrast and bright colors.

luce_Ferrari Luce electric sports car interior design by Jonathan Ive and Marc Newson

The central control screen of this car has a spherical rotating shaft that can be freely oriented towards the driver/co-pilot. It is equipped with a palm rest and can be operated without having to lower your head. There is a spherical multi-function meter on the right side, which can switch the clock, timer, compass and ejection starting guide. The second screen on the top left is used to display advanced parameters such as speed and power. The large screen in the middle can display information such as CarPlay, air conditioning and parameter settings.

luce_Ferrari Luce electric sports car interior design by Jonathan Ive and Marc Newson

Overall, the car's interior is a blend of craftsmanship, thoughtful innovation, and a nod to the past while embracing the future.

The U.S. Dollar-pegged Stablecoin USDG Is About To Be Launched In The EU And Is Supported By Many Parties And Certified.

Zhitong Finance has learned that issuer Paxos released the US dollar-pegged stablecoin Global Dollar (USDG-USD) to users across the EU on Tuesday. The statement stated that the stablecoin is supported by retail trading platform Robinhood (HOOD.US), payment giant Mastercard (MA.US) and crypto exchange Kraken and will be launched in the EU soon.

This implementation will enable more than 450 million consumers in 30 countries to gain access to USDG. The token has been certified by the EU’s Crypto-Asset Market Regulation (MiCA) and is regulated by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

USDG is issued in Europe by Paxos Issuance Europe OY, a Finnish entity regulated by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority and structured to comply with the EU’s new crypto-asset market framework. Paxos will store part of USDG's cash reserves in European banks and commit to one-on-one redemptions to meet MiCA's strict support and auditing rules.

Despite the EU's strict cryptocurrency laws, demand for U.S. dollar-pegged currencies has surged, according to Paxos data. The company expects USDG to compete for market share with other regulated stablecoins, such as Circle (CRCL.US)USDC, which is the first stablecoin to obtain a MiCA license and is currently the largest MiCA-compliant token.

Launched in November 2024, USDG supports the Global Dollar Network (GDN), a consortium of industry leaders dedicated to promoting the adoption of stablecoins. Companies including Robinhood, Kraken, Paxos, Anchorage, Nuvei, Bullish and Galaxy are among its founding partners.

"This move comes at a time when demand for stablecoins is rising rapidly," said Walter Hessert, head of strategy at Paxos.

Recently, during the first Ethereum Community Conference in Europe, the US stock brokerage giant Robinhood officially announced the launch of the most ambitious encryption product suite in history, launching a series of new cryptocurrency-related products, including tokenized stocks, exchange-traded funds, encrypted perpetual futures and encrypted pledge services.

This series of initiatives not only enhances Robinhood’s core competitiveness in the crypto market, but also marks the formation of “tokenized Wall Street.”

OKEx Resumed Fiat Currency Trading After Suspending Currency Withdrawals, USDT Selling Price Suffered Setbacks And Related Situations

European Exchange APP download_OKEx’s escape channels after suspending currency withdrawals_The impact of OKEx’s resumption of fiat currency trading

After OKEx suspended currency withdrawals, user assets were temporarily trapped. As a result, a variety of "extrication" channels have appeared on the market. First, there was a mixed bag of OTC transactions, and then there were the "rigid redemptions" of OKU and TRON supported by other exchanges.

Various forces have come on stage one after another, using OKEx's internal transfer function to seemingly "save" OKEx users, but in fact they have their own agenda, creating a trend of "carving up" OKEx user resources and assets.

This well-established platform is not sitting still. On October 21, first, multiple trigger platform risk control accounts were automatically restricted from internal transfer functions. At around 11:00 that day, OKEx announced that it would resume fiat currency trading at 20:00 (Hong Kong time).

On the OKEx legal currency trading area after the restoration, the selling price range of USDT, the stable currency USDT that is urgently needed by the market, is between 5.01 yuan and 5.71 yuan within 5 minutes, and the selling price is lower than other mainstream platforms. OKB took advantage of the trend and rose sharply in the short term, rising from US$4.81 to US$5 in 10 minutes.

Opening up the exchange channel for fiat currencies and crypto assets is like a counterattack by OKEx, intercepting behaviors that threaten the security of its users and their assets, and more importantly, providing a withdrawal channel for trapped users.

OKEx unblocks fiat currency channels USDT selling price suffers setback

At 8 pm on October 21st, Beijing time, OKEx, which had suspended currency withdrawals for 5 days, first restored the status of the legal currency trading area. Six stable currencies including USDT, 8 mainstream currencies such as BTC, and the platform token OKB are fully open for legal currency trading.

European Exchange APP download_The impact of OKEx’s resumption of legal currency transactions_OKEx’s escape channels after its suspension of currency withdrawals

OKEx resumes fiat currency trading

On the afternoon of the 16th, when OKEx "suspended withdrawals", the platform's fiat currency trading area pending order page became blank. Now, this market has finally recovered, but the fiat currency trading prices of various currencies have suffered setbacks.

Taking USDT as an example, at 20:05, the self-selected area of ​​the OKEx legal currency trading area shows that the buying price of USDT listed by the merchant is between 6.2 yuan and 7.99 yuan; the selling price range is between 5.01 yuan and 5.71 yuan. The bid-ask spread ranges from 1.19 yuan to 2.28 yuan.

At the same time, in the Huobi legal currency trading area, the lowest buying price of USDT was above 7.34 yuan, and the selling price was between 5.93 yuan and 6.61 yuan. The lowest buying price and highest selling price of USDT on OKEx are equivalent to a "14% discount" and "16% discount" respectively compared to USDT on Huobi.

This is also as predicted by outside public opinion during the day. Before users' panic about the platform's inability to withdraw coins has dissipated, it is not difficult to imagine the situation where fiat currency trading merchants will collect coins at low prices.

However, the news of the resumption of legal currency transactions has brought benefits to the platform token OKB.

At 11 a.m. on October 20, just after the announcement, OKB jumped from $4.85 and soared to a high of $5.26 within 12 minutes, a rapid increase of 8.45%.

At 20:00 when withdrawals were officially resumed, OKB once again rebounded from US$4.81 after the correction to US$5, an increase of 3% in 10 minutes. As of 1 a.m. on the 22nd, OKB remained near $5.

Each side of the "carving up" has its own agenda, and users pay for their anxiety

Some commentators called OKEx's resumption of fiat currency trading a "smart move." On the one hand, this alleviated users' anxiety caused by being unable to withdraw money and opened up a channel for users to withdraw funds. Some people in the community think, "This is good, at least everyone will not be cheated by some OTC traders."

Indeed, since OKEx suspended currency withdrawals on October 16, advertisements for “collecting OK-USDT” have appeared in various communities, and a dedicated over-the-counter trading group has even been established. The purchase prices appearing in each group range from 30% to 20% off the market price. The way they operate is to allow OKEx users to transfer USDT to the "U recipient" account through on-site transfers, and buyers and sellers settle the tokens through off-site peer-to-peer settlement.

Industry insiders have warned that if users "cash out" at low prices through this method, they may encounter high risks of fraud or money laundering. Today, OKEx has resumed fiat currency trading, which has alleviated the risks for platform users to a certain extent. From a price perspective, although there is a "discount" on the price of USDT in the platform trading area, it is not lower than the off-site purchase price.

More savvy trading platforms have identified the risk and pain points of OTC trading and quickly launched a currency called OKU. On October 20, CoinEX announced that “in order to help OKEx users’ assets circulate better,” it launched OKU with a 1:1 exchange rate with USDT, and supported transactions between OKU and USDT on its platform.

Since OKU went online at 20:00 on October 20, the price has risen from 0.8USDT to 0.99USDT, and the lowest fell to 0.72USDT that day. As of 1:30 a.m. on October 22, OKU quoted 0.91USDT on CoinEX, with the lowest price in 24 hours being 0.81USDT and the highest being 0.92USDT.

Coin-to-crypto transactions endorsed by the trading platform may have lower risks than OTC transactions, but judging from the price of OKU, they are still discounted USDT. One problem is that there is no way to know the total amount of OKU.

CoinEX also stated in the announcement, "If CoinEx's official account on OKEX is frozen or assets are lost due to OKEx's policies or other force majeure factors, the losses caused will be borne by OKU holders, and CoinEx will not bear any responsibility for this." In other words, helping "OKEx users' assets circulate better" does not mean there is no risk, and the specific risks will be borne by users. For the platform, it is a "double harvest" of user resources and transaction fees.

OKEx’s on-site transfer function is not only used by OTC traders and competitors in the industry, but also by the favorite hot spot Justin Sun. Also on October 20, the Tron Foundation announced that TRX on the OKEx platform can be redeemed on a 1:1 basis. Officials will transfer the TRX in the user's designated account on the Tron site to the user's designated TRX mainnet account.

Affected by this, TRX rose by 9.92% in a short period of time, and then quickly fell by 5.48%. As for where TRON’s TRX comes from, and how TRX transferred to designated accounts on OKEx will be handled, the announcement did not explain.

Players in the currency listing circle on Weibo also have mixed reviews of Justin Sun's move. Some praised him for his "quick thinking" and "helping users escape." Others were worried that the TRX concentrated in Tron's OKEx account would create selling pressure, and TRX holders would ultimately pay for it.

When various parties took advantage of OKEx's on-site transfer function to "divide" its users and user assets, OKEx responded in the early morning of the 21st. The official Weibo posted a reminder that "multiple accounts have been automatically restricted from internal transfer functions due to triggering platform risk control measures." In reply to users, OKEx stated that it was working hard to resume currency withdrawals.

Although no timetable has been given for the opening of currency withdrawals, OKEx, which was the first to resume fiat currency trading, finally made a comeback, more or less counterattacking against the fancy "carve-up" actions in the market. At least one channel for users to withdraw funds has been opened.

Stablecoins Are Valued In The Crypto Market, And USDG Plays An Important Role In Diverse Scenarios

The current total market value of stablecoins in the crypto market has exceeded 100 billion U.S. dollars, of which USDT, USDC, BUSD, and DAI account for over 95% of the entire centralized stablecoin market. With the popularity of the DeFi concept, people's attention to stablecoins is also rising. Stablecoins have become an important infrastructure in the encryption market and are playing an increasingly important role in the global financial market.

Under the recent strong suppression, the direction of suppression ranges from mining to exchanges, from OTC, bulk to blockchain media. What will be the next direction? Some people speculate that it will be stablecoins. Because whether it is rectifying the encryption market or stabilizing the cross-border payment environment, stablecoins play an important part in it.

Diverse scenarios empower USDG

USDG is a blockchain stablecoin anchored to the value of USD, managed by Gate.io (gate.tv) and generated from over-collateralization of a variety of digital currencies. USDG is an ecological member of Gate.io (gate.tv) and is a cross-chain asset stored on multiple blockchains such as GateChain and Ethereum. Users can generate various blockchain assets such as GT through the Gate.io sesame opening (gate.tv) platform or through smart contracts in the future, which can be used for asset transactions, stablecoin liquidity mining, DeFi exchange Swap liquidity pools and other applications. This is undoubtedly a window opened by Gate.io (gate.tv) for USDG. USDG has become the protagonist of many financial products.

Most of the stablecoins on the market have some shortcomings. In addition to the insufficient asset scale behind them, the algorithm mechanism itself does not have reliable support. This makes it difficult for them to accept the test of the market when facing extreme market conditions, and eventually they are eliminated.

After a short period of development, Gate.io's (gate.tv) stablecoin USDG has gradually diversified its usage scenarios. USDG has performed well in all aspects and has achieved outstanding results in the multi-party applications of Gate.io (gate.tv), providing perfect liquidity and transaction scope.

Gate.io (gate.tv) has been launched to obtain the USDG function through blockchain asset mortgage. Both web users and mobile App users can participate in mortgage or redemption at any time. Currently, USDG generated from mortgage borrowing does not charge any interest;

Reaching an intention to cooperate with the S.Finance community, USDG will be listed on S.finance to participate in stablecoin exchange and liquidity mining. Let USDG become a value carrier, and users can run smoothly in the crypto world through USDG;

Gate.io (gate.tv) will provide USDG high-yield financial services in the "Wealth Management" service. Gate.io (gate.tv) will invest assets into DeFi liquidity mining projects that have been extensively verified and audited by smart contracts, and the proceeds will be used to reward financial management users.

In fact, after the lightning expansion of Gate.io (gate.tv) in recent years, the financial ecosystem behind it has already become an empire, and its USDG value endorsement is trustworthy.

Stable portfolio and reduce currency holding risks

As we all know, stablecoins can be defined as cryptoassets that aim to maintain a stable price relative to a benchmark. By using stablecoins, cryptoasset investors are able to stay in the cryptoworld and gain advantages in resilience, integration, immutability, and anonymity, while benefiting from the stable environment typically borrowed from fiat currencies.

Recently, according to an announcement from Gate.io (gate.tv), in order to promote the compliance path of the encryption industry and improve the security protection of user assets, Gate.io (gate.tv) launched the compliant stablecoin combination USD on August 10. This move can add any currency in the platform's recharge portfolio to the account for trading and withdrawal. Users do not need to manually convert, which brings great convenience.

The compliant stablecoin combination USD launched by Gate.io (gate.tv) integrates a variety of mainstream stablecoins into USD, including but not limited to USDC, TUSD, PAX, BUSD, HUSD and other mainstream stablecoins. It can be simply understood that the stablecoins counted into USD are all "certified" compliant stablecoins.

Gate.io's stablecoin portfolio can be simply understood as: users can choose any currency in the recharge portfolio on the Gate.io platform to be accounted for and withdrawn, without manual conversion. Previous stablecoin positions will not be affected. If you want to convert to a USD currency, you can withdraw to your own USD recharge address on the platform. In the future, the compliant stablecoin currencies in Gate.io's gate.tv portfolio will be increased or decreased based on industry development, in an attempt to provide users with a more regulated stablecoin asset portfolio and reduce the risk of stablecoin holdings.

In fact, whether it is a stablecoin portfolio or a stablecoin USDG, with the continuous empowerment of Gate.io (gate.tv), the imagination of USDG is infinite, and the investment path of stablecoin portfolios is more convenient. Investors are always more attracted to products of high quality and full sincerity, and Gate.io’s reputation and achievements today illustrate this point.

Canadian Dollar Crisis Warning: The Trade War Between The United States And Canada Is Heating Up, And The Finance Ministers Of The Seven Countries Will Stage A "tariff Shutdown"! U.S. And Canadian Dollar/Canadian Dollar Trends

After Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected ceasefire negotiations in Istanbul, the G7 parties are more likely to reach an agreement on strengthening sanctions against Russia, but it is difficult to commit to specific actions. Trump had a phone call with Putin on the Ukraine issue on Monday, and the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Italy had also spoken with Trump before.

Bessant reiterated support for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in April, which could become another area of ​​consensus for the G7. In addition, issues such as cooperation in combating money laundering and financial crime and relying on the private sector to drive growth are also seen as potential points of consensus.

However, discussions about climate change are likely to be controversial because of Trump's opposition to previous green energy policies. How the G7 describes the economic uncertainty and investment decline caused by tariffs without explicitly blaming U.S. policies is also a sensitive issue in the negotiations.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Suzanne Clark said at the G7 business meeting in Ottawa that the global economic outlook is uncertain and the business community should continue to advocate common values ​​such as democracy, rule of law and open markets.

2. Canadian Prime Minister Carney announced that the federal government will submit a budget in the fall

Earlier, Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champion said the new Liberal government would release an economic update later this year rather than submit an annual budget in the short term.

Carney made the statement after attending the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican. He told a news conference in Rome that it would make no sense to rush through the budget in the short term after the new cabinet is formed.

Carney noted that it would be premature to draw up a budget before a NATO summit in June and in-depth discussions on an economic partnership with the United States. The government is currently looking at how to reduce costs and improve public sector efficiency.

He mentioned that factors such as defense spending, economic prospects, tariff relations with the United States, and government efficiency will be taken into consideration to ensure that the budget submitted in the fall is more comprehensive, effective and prudent.

Carney was among the dignitaries attending the inauguration of the new pope at the Vatican, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in preparation for the G7 summit in Canada in June.

3. U.S. sovereign credit rating downgraded

Moody's, one of the three major international credit rating agencies, recently issued an announcement on its official website, announcing that due to the continued increase in the total amount of U.S. government debt and the proportion of interest payments, it has decided to downgrade the U.S. sovereign credit rating from the highest level of Aaa to Aa1.

According to Moody's analysis, U.S. government debt and interest payment ratios have grown significantly over the past decade and are much higher than those of other countries with similar ratings. Although the United States has obvious economic and financial advantages, these advantages can no longer fully offset the continued deterioration of its fiscal situation.

Currently, the United States' annual fiscal deficit is close to 2 trillion US dollars, accounting for more than 6% of the gross domestic product (GDP). In the context of an economic slowdown that may be triggered by global trade frictions, the trend of sluggish economic growth in the United States may further intensify the fiscal pressure on the federal government, because during economic downturns, government spending usually rises accordingly.

In addition, the high interest rate environment in recent years has significantly increased the U.S. government's debt service costs. Since the COVID-19 epidemic, the U.S. government's borrowing scale has continued to expand, causing the overall debt scale to exceed the economic aggregate.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent also admitted at a congressional hearing that the United States is facing an unsustainable fiscal path and the debt problem is worrying. He pointed out that this crisis may lead to an overall contraction of credit, which in turn triggers a sudden economic stagnation, and stressed that the government will try its best to avoid such a situation.

The Yale Budget Laboratory predicts that if the new tax bill proposed by the Republican Party is passed, it will increase the scale of new federal debt to $3.4 trillion in the next decade. If the temporary provisions in the bill that were originally planned to gradually expire are extended to 2035, the debt increase may be as high as $5 trillion. The agency also predicts that if the above provisions are made permanent, the U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio will rise to 200% in 2055.

It is worth noting that Moody's is the last of the three major international rating agencies to revoke the AAA sovereign credit rating of the United States. Standard & Poor's downgraded the long-term sovereign rating of the United States from "AAA" to "AA+" as early as 2011, a move that triggered strong opposition from the U.S. Treasury Department. In August 2023, Fitch also canceled the AAA rating of the United States due to frequent deadlocks in debt ceiling negotiations in Congress, as well as the deteriorating federal fiscal situation and high debt levels.

Today, Tuesday, May 20, investors should pay attention to the release of Canadian CPI inflation data at 20:30 Beijing time. In addition, attention should be paid to the G7 finance ministers meeting held in Canada from May 22 to May 23.

Economic information

Economic Outlook of Canadian Federal Budget Defense Spending_USDG_G7 Summit Strengthens Sanctions on Russia International Monetary Fund

Canadian household wealth innovation and high structural risks are looming. Statistics Canada data shows that in the fourth quarter of 2024, national household wealth reached 17.49 trillion Canadian dollars, a record high, and the average household net worth reached 1,026,205 Canadian dollars, an increase of 30% from 2019. Wealth growth is mainly driven by financial assets (stock market gains). The S&P 500 and Toronto Stock Exchange indices rose by 23% and 18% respectively, and financial assets increased by nearly 10% year-on-year. Real estate values ​​stabilized and rebounded, with house prices rising slightly by 1% year-on-year in 2024.

Generational and regional differences are significant: Millennials and Generation At the regional level, Quebec and the prairie provinces (Alberta and Saskatchewan) lead the way in wealth growth (over 7%). Ontario and British Columbia still lead the list with an average value of over 1.2 million Canadian dollars due to high housing prices, but the growth rate has slowed to 3.4%-5.6%.

Future growth will be under pressure and the trade war may become a variable: Economists warn that the risk of economic recession in 2025 and the U.S.-Canada trade war may reverse the growth trend. If the stock market corrects (due to the impact of Trump's tariff policies), the richest 20% of households (accounting for 65% of the nation's wealth) may face a decline in assets, dragging down the overall data. Rising unemployment (reaching 6.9% in April) and income constraints among young people may exacerbate wealth inequality. Real estate may be relatively stable, but high interest rates are still discouraging young homebuyers from entering the market. The analysis pointed out that the resilience of household wealth depends on the stability of the stock market and policy, and the average value of one million Canadian dollars may be difficult to maintain under external shocks.

political information

USDG_G7 Summit Strengthens Sanctions on Russia International Monetary Fund_Canadian Federal Budget Defense Spending Economic Outlook

The G-7 summit focused on the tariff game and the coordination of differences between Canada and the United States. Canadian Prime Minister Carney met with US Vice President Vance in Rome on May 18 to coordinate positions on tariff disputes, border security and fentanyl control. The two sides agreed to strengthen economic and security cooperation. On May 21, the G7 finance ministers’ meeting was held in Banff, Canada. The host tried to bridge the differences between allies on tariffs against the United States. Canada is under the pressure of the Trump administration’s 25% tariff on aluminum, steel and other products, while members of the G7 may face the risk of the United States’ “reciprocal tariffs” doubling to more than 20%.

During the meeting, Canadian Finance Minister Bessant called on allies to jointly deal with "non-market behavior" and also sought to push the United States to soften its tariff policy. Canada actively mediates the joint statement of the seven countries, supports Ukraine and coordinates sanctions against Russia, but it has significant differences with the United States on climate issues. Analysis pointed out that Canada tried to use a "unity narrative" to hedge against trade uncertainty, but Trump's tough policy made a substantial breakthrough doubtful. The domestic business community calls for maintaining open market values, highlighting the strategic dilemma caught between globalization and protectionism.

financial information

On May 19, the Canadian stock market was closed.

geopolitical war

Economic Outlook of Canada’s Federal Budget Defense Spending_G7 Summit Strengthens International Monetary Fund Sanctions on Russia_USDG

The Israeli offensive in Gaza has escalated, and international pressure has intensified along with forced evacuation and limited assistance. On May 19, the Israeli military launched intensive air strikes on Khan Younis, the second largest city in Gaza. More than 30 air strikes were carried out in a single hour, killing at least 46 people. It forced residents to evacuate to the Mawasi area, warning that it would launch an "unprecedented" attack. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would allow "minimum" aid to come in to ease international pressure, but did not announce a specific timetable.

British Prime Minister Starmer condemned the situation as "intolerable" and is coordinating with allies to respond. The Gaza Ministry of Health pointed out that the Israeli offensive moved southward, causing a surge in civilian casualties. Wafa News Agency said that an attack on the Nuseirat school resulted in the death of children. Although Israel has designated an evacuation zone, Mawasi has also been attacked recently, leaving residents in a dilemma with "nowhere to escape." Analysts believe that Netanyahu's opening of aid is aimed at hedging allies' dissatisfaction with his blockade policy, but delays in humanitarian access may increase the risk of famine and further shake international support. The current conflict is spiraling into escalation, and the prospects for a ceasefire are slim.

Technology attack

1. Technical summary:

Statistics Canada will release the April Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Tuesday, about two weeks before the central bank's interest rate decision on June 4. Market consensus expects inflation to fall to 1.6% in April from 2.3% in March.

This decline was mainly affected by the cancellation of the carbon tax by new Prime Minister Carney. The carbon tax, which previously increased about 18 cents per liter of gasoline, is expected to reduce overall inflation by 0.7 percentage points in April after its cancellation, and will continue to have a similar impact on inflation in the next year until the base period effect disappears next year.

Royal Bank of Canada forecasts inflation at 1.6%. Economists at the bank pointed out that changes in tax policy, including the elimination of the carbon tax and the temporary tax cuts that ended in mid-February, are affecting the inflation data.

RSM Canada economist Tu Nguyen said the fall in international oil prices in April also caused gasoline prices to fall due to the slowdown in the global economy and OPEC's increase in production. She expects slower housing inflation to bring CPI closer to the central bank's 2% target.

She believes that the Canada-US trade dispute will have a limited impact on inflation in April. Although the United States has imposed tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, and Canada has taken countermeasures, some products have been exempted. She pointed out that companies may face higher expenses due to supply chain adjustments or absorbing the cost of tariffs, but this will not significantly push up inflation.

Nguyen emphasized that U.S. CPI data shows that tariffs have a limited impact on prices, and Canada should have a similar effect. In addition, the impact of the trade war is mainly concentrated on the prices of new cars and auto parts, making little contribution to the overall CPI.

The Bank of Canada kept interest rates unchanged in April. Governor Macklem said the move was to monitor the impact of the trade dispute on the economy. The current labor market is weak and the manufacturing unemployment rate is rising. The national unemployment rate rose to 6.9% in April, which may prompt the central bank to cut interest rates again.

TD Bank predicts that the central bank has room to cut interest rates by 25 basis points in June. As of Friday, the market predicted a rate cut probability of over 64% in June. Nguyen predicts there will be two more interest rate cuts this year, bringing the benchmark interest rate to 2.25% by the end of the year. She believes that the central bank will adopt gradual interest rate cuts based on the trade situation and will not operate continuously.

In addition, U.S. Vice President Vance met with Canadian Prime Minister Carney during his visit to Rome on Sunday. The two sides focused on fair trade policies. According to a statement released by Vance's office, the United States and Canada are working to resolve the current tariffs, had in-depth exchanges around the increasing trade pressure and the need to build a new economic and security cooperation relationship, and agreed to continue to maintain communication. This meeting opened a channel for dialogue to ease trade frictions between the United States and Canada, and eased market uneasiness about the trade relations between the two countries.

Currently, the market is paying close attention to relevant trends during the Group of Seven (G7) summit from today to May 23. During the meeting, the Canadian Finance Minister and the US Treasury Secretary are expected to hold talks. The talks are expected to carry out specific consultations on the current trade situation to find solutions to reduce the pressure on the economy caused by tariffs. The progress of the negotiations between the two parties may not only provide a reference for the upcoming autumn federal budget, but also form certain guidelines for the central bank's formulation of future monetary policies.

Looking back on Monday, the market maintained a cautious wait-and-see attitude due to the upcoming G7 meeting, which may involve US-Canada trade negotiations. Affected by this, the U.S.-Canada exchange rate fluctuated within a narrow range, waiting for further news. The highest during the day hit the 1.3972 level, and the lowest tested the 1.3917 area.

At the technical structure level, the trend of the United States and Canada is blocked at the 1.4020 area on the daily level. From the perspective of the upward structure, the United States and Canada need to break through the 1.4020 resistance level before they have the opportunity to extend to the 1.4050 main resistance level area for testing. This level is the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level from March 2 to May 7 this year (1.4543-1.3750), which technically constitutes a strong pressure zone. If further breakthroughs can be achieved, it is expected to challenge the important mid-term resistance level of 1.4150.

The 1.3885 area below is the main support level. This level is the 50% Fibonacci retracement level of this rebound upward trend (1.3750-1.4016), which technically constitutes a strong support zone. If the United States and Canada fall below the 1.3885 level area, it may once again stimulate the market's bearish sentiment and push the exchange rate to continue to challenge the important support level of 1.3750.

2. Summary of technical indicators:

Economic Outlook of Canadian Federal Budget Defense Spending_USDG_G7 Summit Strengthens Sanctions on Russia International Monetary Fund

Economic Outlook of Canada’s Federal Budget Defense Spending_G7 Summit Strengthens International Monetary Fund Sanctions on Russia_USDG

3. Trading strategy analysis:

Economic Outlook of Canadian Federal Budget Defense Spending_USDG_G7 Summit Strengthens Sanctions on Russia International Monetary Fund

The range of concern for the United States and Canada during the day:

1.4020-1.3930

At the daily level, since last week, the trend of the United States and Canada has been hindered many times by falling back near the 1.4000 integer mark, and has formed a narrow consolidation range after obtaining effective support in the 1.3930 horizontal area.

In the evening, Canada will release April inflation data Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is about two weeks away from the central bank's interest rate decision on June 4. The market expects April inflation to drop to 1.6% from 2.3% in March. If inflation declines as expected, this may support the Bank of Canada to restart its interest rate cut policy. As of last Friday, the market expects the probability of an interest rate cut in June to be over 64%.

If this prediction turns out to be true, it will put potential pressure on the Canadian dollar, and is expected to boost the U.S.-Canada exchange rate to break through the upper edge of the range to above the 1.4020 level, and challenge the 1.4050-1.4070 resistance area.

However, if the CPI data released does not show signs of a decline or even an increase in inflation, it will provide support for the Canadian dollar and is expected to push the US-Canada exchange rate below the 1.3930 level and then test the 1.3900/1.3890 level area.

Rising: 1.4020-1.4050/1.4070

Decline: 1.3930-1.3900/1.3890

Cryptocurrencies Have Been Rising For Days. What Are The Future Trends?

The cryptocurrency market is experiencing another surge this week.

On May 20, Bitcoin rose to US$71,705.47 in North American night trading, regaining US$71,000, a cumulative increase of approximately 68.59% compared to the beginning of the year. The cryptocurrency superstar of this period, Ethereum, also experienced a "wild surge". On May 21, Ethereum touched $3,800 per coin for the first time since March 5, rising 8.57% during the day.

It is reported that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday asked Nasdaq and Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) to slightly modify the Ethereum spot ETF listing application, which means that regulatory agencies may approve the listing of Ethereum ETF on May 23. According to people familiar with the matter, the U.S. SEC has contacted at least one exchange and at least one potential spot Ethereum ETF issuer to update relevant 19b-4 filings. Accordingly, Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas has increased the probability of approval of the Ethereum ETF from 25% to 75%.

There are 9,963 types of cryptocurrency, with a total market value of US$2.43 trillion. Among them, the market values ​​of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Biancoin, Solana, Ripple, Dogecoin, Toncoin, Cardano, and Shiba Inucoin are 1.40 trillion, 442.84 billion, 88.33 billion, 83.07 billion, 29.67 billion, 23.57 billion, 22.73 billion, 17.85 billion, and 14.96 billion US dollars respectively. Based on three-month average daily transactions, the trading volumes of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Biancoin, Solana, Ripple, Dogecoin, Toncoin, Cardano, and Shiba Inucoin were 37.168 billion, 17.39 billion, 2.07 billion, 4.22 billion, 1.83 billion, 283 million, 2.39 billion, 625 million, and 1.46 billion US dollars respectively.

Most cryptocurrencies have even outperformed the S&P 500 so far this year. As of May 21 from the beginning of this year, Bitcoin has risen by 68.10% and Ethereum has risen by 60.9%. Other cryptocurrencies rose even more strongly, with Binance Coin up 91.5%, Solana up 81.5%, Dogecoin up 82.4%, Shiba Inu Coin up 145.3%, and Toncoin up 180.5%. Among the niche cryptocurrencies, Ripple fell by 13.4%, ADA fell by 15.9%, and the S&P 500 index rose by 11.56% during the same period.

Cryptocurrency market surges this week_Bitcoin price rises on May 20_Binance Exchange official website v2.4

Cryptocurrency has become mainstream in the investment community amid digital transformation

Looking back at the cryptocurrency market trends since the beginning of the year, the driving force is still the regulatory agencies. Or to be more precise, despite the strong opposition to cryptocurrencies in the United States, institutional investors have used their powerful lobbying power to change the attitude of regulators. In January this year, the Bitcoin spot ETF was approved for listing and trading. This is another milestone event in the world of cryptocurrency, because ETF provides a relatively safe and convenient trading channel for investors, especially retail investors, and also marks that cryptocurrency has gained more and more mainstream recognition in the investment community. Judging from the net inflows of ETF funds, the listing and trading of Bitcoin spot ETFs is undoubtedly very successful, and its future development momentum is unstoppable.

At present, it seems that there is a large gap in the strength of fund companies engaged in Bitcoin spot ETF management. In terms of returns, since the beginning of the year, Bitcoin spot fund returns have been roughly the same, with only Hashdex and Grayscale (GBTC) performing slightly lower than the market performance. But in terms of daily trading volume (fund units), these funds perform very differently. The most popular among investors are funds owned by big-name fund companies, such as BlackRock, Fidelity Assets and Grayscale, while other funds have been left out. In terms of management fees, most funds have the same charging standards, with only Grayscale and Hashdex charging higher than the average.

Faced with such high returns, investors were enthusiastic. According to Morningstar data (an authoritative U.S. fund company research institution), between January 11 and April 30, 2024, a total of US$12.1 billion of funds flowed into Bitcoin spot ETFs, of which more than 80% of the funds flowed into BlackRock's iShare Fund or Fidelity Investment Fund. The brand effect is very obvious. Grayscale worked hard to lobby the US Securities and Exchange Commission, but its funds dropped sharply from US$27.2 billion in January to US$17.6 billion.

Cryptocurrency’s reputation has recovered and future development is expected

Cryptocurrencies have also been rocked by scandals.

Among them, the one with the greatest impact is the rapid collapse of FTX (a cryptocurrency exchange registered in the Bahamas, full name "Futures Exchange") in November 2022 and the domino effect it generated. However, the most dramatic thing was the subsequent liquidation process of FTX. At that time, FTX encountered a liquidity crisis, with a funding gap of up to US$8 billion, and FTX could only declare bankruptcy. According to the previous company liquidation procedures, the process took a long time and the compensation ratio was low. However, less than two years after FTX collapsed, investors were compensated for their principal and interest. Since the collapse of FTX, the price of Bitcoin has risen from US$16,000 to more than US$70,000 today. The Bitcoin assets and other investments owned by FTX have appreciated rapidly, making them fully capable of fully compensating investors at the price when FTX collapsed. There is no doubt that FTX’s case is a free advertisement for cryptocurrencies.

In addition to fund management companies, many commercial banks, insurance companies, investment banks and other financial institutions have already been involved in cryptocurrency assets because they are well aware of customer needs and must keep up with the general trend of the digital era, otherwise they will be abandoned by the next round of financial wealth creation. Dimon, the president of JPMorgan Chase Bank, has always been an opponent of Bitcoin and has not changed yet. But paradoxically, the banking giant also holds a Bitcoin ETF. According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's 13F report, at the end of the first quarter, JPMorgan Chase held a Bitcoin spot ETF worth $731,264, of which the Bitcoin spot ETF managed by BlackRock was worth $477,425; Wells Fargo held a Grayscale Bitcoin spot ETF worth $141,817.

The Bitcoin market is still a game for big capital players

The supply side of Bitcoin is tightening and mining costs are increasing.

As of April this year, approximately 19.69 million Bitcoins are in circulation. As the limit of 21 million is getting closer and closer, only about 1.31 million coins can be issued through mining rewards. Mining requires increasingly higher computer computing power and costs continue to rise. It is difficult to guarantee mining profits by network fees alone. Bitcoin mining is no longer a hobby for ordinary investors, but a game for capital predators. As the number of new Bitcoins becomes smaller and smaller, the price of Bitcoin will theoretically continue to rise.

Initially, the Bitcoin mining reward was 50 Bitcoins, which dropped to 25 Bitcoins on November 28, 2012, to 12.5 Bitcoins on July 9, 2016, to 6.25 Bitcoins on May 11, 2020, and to 3.125 Bitcoins on April 19 this year. It is expected to drop to 1.625 Bitcoins in 2028. The halving of Bitcoin mining rewards will affect the profits of mining companies to a certain extent. According to reports, 10 listed Bitcoin mining companies in the United States had received US$2 billion in equity financing before April, up from US$1.25 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023. It is difficult to say whether the rise in Bitcoin prices is related to the halving of rewards, but some institutions predict that the price of Bitcoin will rise to US$1 million in 2030.

The Bitcoin market is monopolized by a small number of super-rich people, and the vast majority of accounts are "lambs" who are left to be slaughtered. The distribution of Bitcoin addresses or accounts is a typical inverted pyramid. The top 2,126 accounts account for less than 0.004% of the total number, but control 40.14% of Bitcoin ownership, giving them sufficient ability to manipulate the market. Their buying and selling transactions are enough to affect Bitcoin prices and market liquidity. The Bitcoin market is destined to be a highly volatile and high-risk market. The amount of Bitcoin held by Bitcoin ETF funds pales in comparison to the amount of Bitcoin held by these ultra-rich individuals.

According to statistics from relevant websites, a few individuals, companies and exchanges hold the most Bitcoins. As far as personal accounts are concerned, the mysterious "father of Bitcoin" Satoshi Nakamoto holds the most Bitcoins. The Winklevoss Twins account holds 70,000 Bitcoins. The value of Bitcoins held by Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is estimated to be more than 100 billion US dollars. As far as corporate accounts are concerned, the Grayscale investment portfolio holds 643,572 Bitcoins, accounting for approximately 3% of the total issuance, software company Microstrategy holds 129,699 Bitcoins, accounting for 0.6% of the total issuance, and Tesla holds 10,725 Bitcoins.

Cryptocurrency exchanges and market competition

Cryptocurrency exchange competition is fierce because powerful investors are very optimistic about the development of this market.

In the past few years, many cryptocurrencies have gone bankrupt due to various reasons, but new investors have continued to pour in, such as investment institutions in offshore financial center cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai. On April 29, the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission approved the initial issuance of six digital currency spot ETFs under ChinaAMC (Hong Kong), Boshi International and Harvest International, and they were officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on April 30. This is also one of the important arrangements for the future development of Hong Kong's international financial center. It is estimated that Binance (Binance, registered in Malta) holds 252,597 Bitcoins, and its two cold storage accounts (the most secure accounts that are not connected to the Internet) hold 143,314 and 125,351 Bitcoins respectively; Coinbase, the largest Bitcoin exchange in the United States, holds about 9,000 Bitcoins; Bitfinex (registered in the U.S. Virgin Islands) holds 168,010.

According to the Kaiko quarterly research report, in the first quarter of 2024, Binance exchange accounted for 48% of the total Bitcoin trading volume, Bybit (Singapore cryptocurrency exchange) accounted for 7.9%, Coinbase accounted for 7.2%, OKX (located in the Seychelles, founded by Chinese Xu Mingxing) accounted for 6.3%, and other exchanges accounted for a total of 30.6%. In the first quarter of 2023, Binance Exchange’s market share accounted for 75.4%, Bybit, Coinbase, and OKX each accounted for 1.6%, 3.9%, and 2.5%, and other exchanges accounted for a total of 16.6%. Binance exchange canceled zero-fee trading in March last year, during which the U.S. court detained and tried Changpeng Zhao. These two events had a certain impact on the exchange's business.

Due to the U.S. regulatory system and financial advantages, many exchanges are trying their best to enter the U.S. market in order to obtain greater profits and development space. According to Kaiko research, from 2012 to 2024, the Bitcoin market was very active during the US trading hours, and its market share remained stable. The listing of Bitcoin spot ETF has helped the U.S. market share reach a record high.

Future development and price trends of the cryptocurrency market

Bitcoin occupies an overwhelming position in the cryptocurrency market, and its volatility level is much higher than that of most financial assets. However, Bitcoin's huge returns have attracted investors. Since January 2023, Bitcoin’s returns have been higher than the S&P 500 Index most of the time, especially after the end of October last year, which widened the gap with the stock index.

The Bitcoin trading market is controlled by a small number of super-rich people, and the market risks are extremely high. However, these large investors must also adapt to changes in the general trend of the market and will never go against the trend. They need to observe and study the financial market environment, especially changes in the S&P 500 Index and the interest rate market. The current Bitcoin market has undergone greater changes than in the past, and is more synchronized with the stock market. In other words, a rise in the U.S. stock market will inevitably drive up the price of Bitcoin. On the contrary, if the stock index is depressed or falling, the price of Bitcoin will behave accordingly. At present, the market should pay attention to the decision of the US Securities Regulatory Commission on May 23: If the Securities Regulatory Commission lights up the "green light", the cryptocurrency market will have a short upward trend; if the Securities Regulatory Commission decides contrary to market expectations, the cryptocurrency market will be brought back to its original shape.

According to Blockdata, 13 banks in the United States have invested in cryptocurrency and blockchain; Coinbase, Ripple and other companies are supported by major banks; in addition, 55% of the world's 100 largest banks have invested in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, including Standard Chartered Bank, Bank of New York Mellon, Citibank, UBS, BNP Paribas, etc. The cryptocurrency track will definitely be crowded in the future. In the long run, Bitcoin's continued value lies in its properties as a currency. If Bitcoin is not widely used for payment of goods and services, but only for speculative transactions, Bitcoin will sooner or later be replaced by other cryptocurrencies.

Ferrari's First Pure Electric Model Luce Unveiled, The Interior Abandons The Large Screen And Adopts Physical Buttons

On February 10, according to electrek, Ferrari officially announced the name of its first pure electric model: Ferrari Luce.

The Italian supercar brand unveiled part of the interior design of its new car in San Francisco. The car's interior was co-created by LoveFrom, a creative studio founded by former Apple design director Jony Ive. The interior design abandons large-screen touch controls and prioritizes physical control buttons.

"Luce" means "light" in Italian, and Ferrari said the name means "electrification is a means, not an end".

Ferrari has been working with Studio LoveFrom, co-founded by former Apple chief design officer Sir Jony Ive and designer Marc Newson, for five years and has been deeply involved in the full-scale design of the car.

Since the new car was exposed during road testing at the Maranello factory, the outside world has continued to pay attention to this Ferrari's first pure electric model. Its underlying technology was officially announced in October last year. Now, LoveFrom’s design concept is finally presented in the interior.

This interior deliberately targets the current trend of large screens in pure electric vehicles. Ferrari said it "breaks the industry convention that electric vehicles must have large screens as the core" and instead uses mechanical buttons, knobs, levers and switches as the core control method, focusing on "intuitive and rich control texture".

Interior core highlights

luce_Ferrari Luce interior design_Introduction to Ferrari's first pure electric model

Steering wheel: Simple three-spoke design, inspired by the classic Nardi wooden steering wheels of the 1950s and 1960s. The steering wheel is made of 19 CNC machined parts and is made of 100% recycled aluminum alloy. It is 400 grams lighter than a regular Ferrari steering wheel. The control area is divided into two modules, and the layout pays homage to F1 racing cars.

Ferrari Luce interior design_luce_Introduction to Ferrari's first pure electric model

Car key and starting ceremony: The key is made of Corning fused 5 glass and equipped with an electronic ink screen, which is the first application in the industry. Insert the key into the base, the screen will turn from yellow to black, and the cockpit lights will light up in a "carefully designed sequence".

luce_Ferrari Luce interior design_Introduction to Ferrari's first pure electric model

Instrument panel: It can move synchronously with the steering wheel to ensure the best viewing angle. It is equipped with two overlapping Samsung OLED screens. The screen has three cutouts to reveal the second screen at the rear, which is also the first in the world. The ultra-light panel was custom-developed by Ferrari and Samsung display engineers.

Introduction to Ferrari's first pure electric model_Ferrari Luce interior design_luce

Control panel: It adopts a ball-and-socket hinge structure and can be tilted toward the main driver or passenger driver; the panel is equipped with a "multi-function dial" with three built-in independent motors, which can switch between four modes: clock, chronograph, compass, and start control.

Ferrari Luce interior design_luce_Introduction to Ferrari's first pure electric model

Interior materials: The entire car is precision cut from 100% recycled aluminum alloy solid billet, and precision milled Corning Fused 5 glass is used in many places.

The appearance of the Ferrari Luce will be officially unveiled in Italy in May 2026.

Ferrari initially confirmed that this pure electric supercar would be launched in 2025. As one of six new cars that year, the appearance release has now been postponed to May this year. Officials stated that the price of this pure electric supercar will exceed 500,000 euros (approximately US$535,000). (Reprinted from the tram industry)

Visa Expands Stablecoin Support, Adding USDG And Other Currencies And Blockchain Settlement

Visa is expanding support for stablecoins, adding settlement support for three additional currencies as well as two new blockchains.

According to analysis by Visa, the adoption of stablecoins is surging, with total global transactions reaching $27 trillion by 2024 and transaction volume reaching 1.25 billion. In 2023, the card plans to pilot a program to allow customers to fulfill settlement obligations in USDC, becoming one of the first major payment networks to settle transactions in stablecoins.

Through its partnership with Paxos, Visa is now adding support for U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins Global Dollar (USDG) and PayPal USD (PYUSD), as well as Circle’s euro-backed EURC. Additionally, the payments giant added support for the Stellar and Avalanche blockchains, on top of the already supported Ethereum and Solana.

Visa has previously stated that every money transmitter needs a stablecoin strategy. Its mission is to “build an interoperable layer that enables stablecoin payments to operate at scale.”

In recent months, Visa has taken a stake in stablecoin infrastructure platform BVNK and formed a partnership with Stripe-owned Bridge to help bring stablecoin-linked cards to more people in more places.

Rubail Birwadker, global head of growth products and strategic partnerships at Visa, said: “We believe that when stablecoins are trustworthy, scalable and interoperable, they can fundamentally change the way money moves around the world.”

Chia Coin Causes Hard Drive Shortage And Price Increase, Computer Gamers Are Helpless, Graphics Card Prices Soar

A graphics card with an official guide price of less than 4,000 yuan now costs 10,000 yuan to get it. The promising Bitcoin market has driven up the price of computer graphics cards, making it even harder to find a card. Recently, a virtual currency called Chia Coin has made hard drives a sought-after "hard currency", revealing the trend of shortages and price increases.

"It's too difficult for ordinary computer gamers!" Hardware prices have skyrocketed in turn, leaving netizens who like to save their own computers, gamers who need high-end configurations, and even scientific researchers in professional laboratories in a helpless situation – if you buy it, it is too expensive; if you don't buy it, you will have no hope of waiting for price reductions.

Netizens joked that mediocre computer hardware is now more popular than Moutai. Hardware consumption plus electricity costs, virtual currency has caused a huge waste of physical resources.

Prices soared and quadrupled in half a year

"Last month I was complaining that selling 10,000 yuan on Xianyu was too exaggerated, but now it's gone up to nearly 17,000 yuan. There is no hope of buying a computer this year." He wanted to buy a computer with a slightly higher configuration to improve his gaming experience, but was stuck with the high price of graphics cards. This was something that the player Xiaolu never expected.

Since the second half of last year, graphics card prices have been soaring, and this year they are even more expensive. Asus, Gigabyte, Colorful… computer graphics card products using high-end graphics chips such as Nvidia produced by various brands have seen an overall price increase.

Chia Coin_The price of graphics cards has skyrocketed_Chia Coin has caused hard disk shortages to increase in price

Take the RTX3080 graphics card released by NVIDIA in October last year as an example. The official website price was 5,499 yuan. In January this year, the wholesale price of the corresponding graphics card products had risen to more than 8,000 yuan. In March, the new card was completely out of stock, and the second-hand price rose to 12,000 yuan. In April, the price of 17,000 yuan has become the norm.

"The entry-level model of RTX2070 was only 4,100 yuan a year ago. Now it costs more than 5,000 yuan on Xianyu. After using it for a year, I made 1,000 yuan." Xiaolu laughed.

Graphics card prices have continued to rise, while hard drive prices have continued to rise.

The reporter checked on mainstream e-commerce platforms and found that enterprise-level hard drives of 6T and above from traditional brands Seagate and Western Digital are basically out of stock, and many people are selling them at high prices on second-hand platforms.

Graphics card prices have skyrocketed_Chia Coin_Chia Coin has caused hard disk shortages to increase in price

The original price of the 8T enterprise disk was about 1,200 yuan, but it rose to nearly 3,000 yuan in a few days. "If you want to buy it, buy it quickly. If you go around again, it won't be the same price." The price of hard drives in offline stores keeps changing, showing a trend of crazy rise.

“Mining” is all the rage Hardware is in short supply

In the context of the decline of desktop computers, many consumers are puzzled by such a surge in hardware prices. The initiator behind the price increase is the popularity of virtual currencies represented by Bitcoin.

"The main function of the graphics card is mining." Tian Yu, an Internet practitioner, explained that the so-called "mining" is actually a common name for earning digital currency. To put it simply, "mining" Bitcoin is like solving a math problem. The first one to solve the problem can get the corresponding reward. This process of solving and verifying is mining.

Because the complexity of this calculation is low and quite repetitive, a graphics card is more suitable than a CPU. "Currency prices have a profound impact on the supply and demand of graphics cards, and in the short term, chip manufacturers also lack the ability to supply large quantities of chips."

The rise in hard drive prices stems from a virtual currency called Chia.

On March 19, Chia Coin went online and opened the “mining” function. Unlike most cryptocurrencies that use computing power to "mine", Chia uses disk space on your hard drive for allocation. The income of a "miner" is directly proportional to the hard disk storage space. The larger the hard disk space, the higher the mining efficiency.

With the popularity of Chia currency, the demand for hard disks has increased, and hard disk prices have increased across the board. The hardest hit area is the 6T and above enterprise disks that are most suitable for mining.

When enterprise-grade hard drives are out of stock, some people resort to the next best thing and buy surveillance-grade hard drives, which heats up the related market. The shortage of mechanical hard drives has also driven up the price of solid-state drives, with ordinary solid-state drives generally rising by one to two hundred yuan.

Income is questionable and huge resources are wasted

"Now ordinary consumers cannot purchase related products at normal and low prices; at the same time, this problem has also led to a large-scale waste of scientific research funds in all levels and professional laboratories that need to purchase computer graphics cards." On the website of the State Administration for Market Regulation, many consumers left messages to complain.

However, regulatory authorities have no way to intervene in this wave of price increases caused by market supply and demand. The State Administration for Market Regulation has made it clear that graphics card prices are market-regulated prices, and operators can independently set prices and implement clearly marked prices. If the operator implements extra-price increases without notifying or marking them in advance, it will be suspected of price violations.

The huge waste of physical resources has made the behavior of “mining” widely criticized.

The Bitcoin power consumption index published by foreign researchers shows that the annual power consumption of Bitcoin mining is approximately 121.36 terawatt hours (1 terawatt hour is 1 billion kilowatt hours of electricity). This number has exceeded the annual power consumption of 12 African countries. To this end, the founder of Chia Coin proposed to create a more environmentally friendly virtual currency system and use idle hard disk space for "green" mining.

However, the irony is that due to the profitability, "miners" bought hard drives aggressively after the launch of Chia currency, and agents and dealers hoarded them, further pushing up the price.

A large number of graphics cards and hard drives are consumed, can it bring expected benefits?

Xuan Jiyou, director of Qianmen Asset Investment Research, said that “mining” is definitely not suitable for ordinary investors. Seven ministries including the central bank have made it clear that digital token issuance is essentially an act of illegal public financing without approval. “This means that if there is an investment dispute similar to Bitcoin in the future, you will not be able to obtain compensation or be protected by national laws and regulations.”

According to the industry, Bitcoin “mining” has long been grouped, and according to the rules, the efficiency of currency issuance is already about 25% of the past. This means that the difficulty of mining continues to rise, and it is difficult for ordinary people to have the opportunity to obtain expected profits.

In addition, there is currently no theoretical support for the value of digital currency. Once the currency price collapses, investors will lose all their money.

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