Pro-Bitcoin Candidate Takes Lead in Argentina Elections

Bitcoin recorded a slight increase last week after weeks of bear market. The world's largest cryptocurrency saw its price rise to nearly $29 mid-week, then fell. It is now trading just below $700, up more than 29%. on a weekly basis - the first weekly increase since June.

Ethereum it also posted weekly gains of just over 1 percent, with an early entry above $1840. Thereafter, it fell slightly to its current level of around $1825.

The market is still looking for good news to hold on to. The slight movement in the prices of major cryptocurrencies over the last few weeks means a relatively quiet summer.

The increase earlier in the week followed PayPal's announcement of a US dollar-pegged stablecoin, which gave the market some cheer, but not enough to really sustain significant gains.

Visa is testing innovations in Ethereum gas fees

Visa, the largest global transaction processing company, is looking for ways to make it easier for customers to pay for Ethereum transactions or gas charges. The company is considering automating the process of paying such fees in fiat currency using an existing credit or debit card.

This may seem like a small thing, but it is currently a significant barrier for many people when it comes to using cryptocurrencies like Ethereum as a form of payment. Currently, the problem arises when the blockchain network meets the traditional financial infrastructure (TradFi).

Overcoming the complexity of transactions at the intersection of these two systems could be an important step on the road to wider adoption of cryptocurrencies. Users could soon store cryptocurrencies in self-service wallets and then use those wallets to make payments basically anywhere, with gas bills and fiat exchanges being made instantly at the point of sale – something that is not so simple these days.

Pro-Bitcoin Candidate Takes Lead in Argentina Elections

Pro-Bitcoin presidential candidate Javier Milei has taken the lead in Argentina's presidential election. The result could be a major driver of political change in a country that suffers from more than 100 percent inflation.

Milei vowed to lead the nation on the path of dollarization with the demise of its own fiat currency, the Argentine peso. He also has pro-Bitcoin views and has called the Argentine central bank a "scam". Milea's victory could see one of South America's major countries take a big step towards wider adoption of cryptocurrencies.

El Salvador was seen by many bitcoin enthusiasts as the first domino in the Americas for bitcoin adoption. However, El Salvador is a small country, especially compared to Argentina. The adoption of bitcoin by such a large nation could be groundbreaking, especially with a population of one million seeking refuge away from the declining fiat standard.

Bitcoin mining could drive the transition to green energy

Scientific research suggests that bitcoin mining, far from causing more emissions, could become a major driver of the green energy transformation.

Bitcoin mining involves high energy consumption to mine new tokens and process transactions on the cryptocurrency blockchain. Research suggests, however, that this process itself may drive the adoption of wind and solar energy.

At a time when demand is lower and energy prices are low – potentially making renewables unprofitable – it is assumed that excess wind and solar power could be consumed by bitcoin mining operations, generating a financial reward for the companies involved and keeping their machines running moving.

This could essentially cover the costs of renewable energy operations where there is a lack of financial incentives from states, which is currently a major barrier to entry for many people as the operating costs of renewables are difficult to offset despite the clear need for clean energy production in to prevent climate change.