Blockchain

• [New] 55% of business owners believe that blockchain technology will be critical to their organization in the next two years and individuals are becoming more trusting in the future of cryptocurrencies, especially millennials, with 60% of them being familiar with cryptocurrencies.
• [New] Russia is joining other central banks across the world that are stepping up efforts to develop digital currencies to modernise financial systems, speed up payments and counter a potential threat from other cryptocurrencies.
• [New] The energy usage of the Bitcoin blockchain would peak in 2024 at almost 297 terawatt-hours and generate 130.50 million metric tons of carbon emissions.
• [New] We find that the carbon emission pattern of Bitcoin blockchain will become a potential barrier against the emission reduction target of China.
• [New] Without any policy interventions, the carbon emission pattern of the Bitcoin blockchain will become a non-negligible barrier against the sustainability efforts of China.
• [New] The Bitcoin blockchain could consume as much energy per year as a small to medium-sized country such as Denmark, Ireland, or Bangladesh 16; finally, the large energy consumption of the Bitcoin blockchain has created considerable carbon emissions.
• [New] Global central banks are looking at developing digital currencies to modernise their financial systems, ward off the threat from cryptocurrencies and speed up domestic and international payments.
• [New] The Bank of New York Mellon, which is the oldest bank in the US, announced that going to allow asset management clients to hold, transfer and issue bitcoin, along with other cryptocurrencies.
• [New] Unless competitors can design around Square's patents, Square could monopolize banking of cryptocurrency in the United States.
• [New] Square could one day become a bank of cryptocurrency enabling commercial transactions in cryptocurrency, as described in its patents on Cryptocurrency Payment Network.
• [New] With blockchain technology becoming more popular every day, it is only apparent that there will be a major boost in both the number and strength of blockchain projects in 2021.
• [New] The tide of regulation of cryptocurrency and blockchain could be turning in the United States.
• [New] The tide of regulation of cryptocurrency and blockchain could possibly be delivering the US.
• [New] Just a few months after America's oldest bank - Bank of New York Mellon - announced it will roll out a new digital custody unit later in 2021, Morgan Stanley became the first bank to give its wealth management clients access to three cryptocurrency funds.
• [New] The biggest news came on Monday when payments giant Visa announced that it will enable customers to settle transactions in USD Coin, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar in a 1:1 ratio, becoming the first big payments network to use a cryptocurrency to settle payments.
• [New] PayPal is expected to expand its cryptocurrency service for other countries in the coming months and be able to expand its cryptocurrency service at 29 million different locations around the world.
• PayPal Holdings Inc will announce later on Tuesday that it has started allowing U.S. consumers to use their cryptocurrency holdings to pay at millions of its online merchants globally, a move that could significantly boost use of digital assets in everyday commerce.
• Visa Inc said on Monday it will allow the use of the cryptocurrency USD Coin to settle transactions on its payment network, the latest sign of growing acceptance of digital currencies by the mainstream financial industry.
• Visa Inc. announced that its payment network will use a stable coin that will be backed by the United States dollar in settling transactions signaling the acceptance of blockchain technology in the mainstream economic system.

Last updated: 11 April 2021