Ethereum rhymes with proof-of-stake

The transition of the network has been anticipated and awaited for a long time Ethereum from the current consensus mechanism proof-of-work on a consensus protocol proof-of-stake, known as "mergers", is getting closer. Last week, the Ethereum network was successfully organized merger on its first public test network, Kiln. Given that the Kiln merger has largely been successful, apart from a few minor issues, it seems likely that the actual process will be completed by June this year.

About the author

Mads Eberhardt, Cryptocurrency Market Analyst, Sax Banks. Cryptocurrency Market Analyst at Saxo Bank. He gained experience as a trader at Bitcoin Suisse AG and founder http://BetterCoins.dk (website taken over by Coinify).

Ethereum network transition from protocol proof-of-work na proof-of-stake will reduce energy consumption by as much as 99,98%. In addition, the supply of Ether is likely to deflate, although holders are expected to receive bonuses of up to 10% per annum, provided they staking their Ether, thereby verifying online transactions. It seems that Ether holders are happy with this economy and with the fact that the merger is likely a matter of months due to the significant increase in quantity stacked ether last week, as well as the fact that ether balance on stock exchanges is the lowest since 2018. The latter phenomenon often indicates a possible easing of sales pressure.

Salvadoran bitcoin bonds are lagging behind

El Salvador was the first country in the world to recognize last year Bitcoin for legal tender. This happened in September 2021, and the whole world was watching it with great attention. Half a year later, El Salvador increased its commitment to bitcoin several times. Since then, the treasury has been acquiring bitcoins on a regular basis; their total amount is currently over 1 bitcoins. During a presentation in November, the country's president Nayib Bukele announced the construction of a new city to be named bitcoin cityto further strengthen the country's position in relation to bitcoin. After Bukele's presentation announced, that El Salvador will issue $ 1 billion in bonds with an annual coupon of 6,5% to finance the city's construction and the purchase of additional bitcoins. The bonds quickly got a name "Bitcoin bonds" (Bitcoin Bonds).

Earlier it was reported that the bond issue could take place already last week. However, according to Salvadoran finance minister Alejandro Zelaya, the Russian invasion of Ukraine delayed the process. Until last week, the necessary bills have not yet been received by the Salvadoran parliament, so the issue will probably not take place in the next month. On the other hand, according to Zelaya, demand on bitcoin bonds in El Salvador is reportedly reaching $ 1,5 billion. If this is true, the number of bond takers is likely to exceed supply. Nevertheless, as El Salvador's commitment to bitcoin increases, so does the risk, as this is largely one big experiment that does not guarantee success - for example, if the Salvadorans did not switch en masse to paying with bitcoin, or if the price of bitcoin was in it continued to decline.

Instagram joins Twitter and adds NFT

According to the co-founder and CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, it will soon be possible to use non-exchangeable tokens (NFT) on Meta's Instagram. Last week Zuckerberg announced that support for the NFT is expected to appear in the near future. However, Zuckerberg did not provide more detailed explanations, merely saying: "I am not ready to share exactly what this will be at this point, but in the next few months there will be the possibility of introducing some of the existing NFTs and hopefully broadcasting NFTs in this environment over time." Nevertheless, it looks like Instagram will soon be joining Twitter in supporting the NFT in one way or another. Twitter introduced in January the ability to verify NFT and use them as a profile photo. This suggests that web2 companies are gradually implementing web3 projects.