S2F Hopium: Report and Twitter Critics Find Flaws With Bitcoin’s Stock-to-Flow Ratio – Bitcoin News

In mid-April, news.Bitcoin.com researched the popular stock-to-flow (S2F), which shows the price of a single bitcoin reaching $55K and even six figures. At the time, analysts questioned measuring bitcoins price in this manner and more recently, a few others have been criticizing the method as well. Just recently, a research report written by the author Francis Tapon finds eight flaws in bitcoins S2F model. Additionally, the well known crypto proponent Eric Wall has shown criticism toward Plan Bs S2F tweets as well.

For well over a year now, crypto advocates have discussed the popular editorial called Modeling Bitcoins Value with Scarcity written by the Twitter account Plan B. The report has caught the attention of the community for quite some time. This is because it predicts the price of a single BTC will be at least $55,000 or even $150,000 in the future. Certain types of crypto proponents love the research and stock-to-flow (S2F) models, but skeptics believe its because it may pad their bullish confirmation bias that someday BTC will be worth tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands at some point in time.

Basically, the S2F ratio divides abundance with demand by treating bitcoin like commodities such as gold or platinum. This means any analyst can use the model to evaluate the current number of bitcoins in circulation against the number of coins mined during a specific year. The last BTC halving plays a crucial role in the S2F model and if Plan Bs predictions are correct, BTC could be around $55K within the next two years.

However, not everyone believes the model and news.Bitcoin.com discussed this situation during the first week of April. But now there is more evidence that the S2F model may not be as reliable as everyone believes and two critics who have explained publicly why S2F may be bunk. Just before the halving, author Francis Tapon who wrote the books The Unseen Africa and The Hidden Europe, wrote a research report on Plan Bs model.

Tapons argument gives the reader eight reasons why the stock-to-flow model has flaws. The number one reason why S2F has problems is because it defies physics. Some critics say that the stock-to-flow model will break in 2140, which is when we cannot mine new bitcoins. At that point, the S2F model predicts that the price of bitcoin will go to infinity, Tapon explains. Although that is a problem, bitcoins stock-to-flow model is doomed to break at least 100 years before that date. Tapon also stresses in his report, that there are two things BTC would have to do:

[One] Bitcoins price would have to double every year, on average, for the next 30 years. Thats 30 doublings. No asset has ever come close to such a performance. Maybe pre-IPO Microsoft or Google or Walmart had such a rise for 10 years. But doublings become extremely difficult once an asset becomes large. [And two] we would need to invent nuclear fusion reactors and become a Type 1 Civilization. Bitcoin consumes vast amounts of energy. The higher the price goes, the more it consumes.

The seven other flaws Tapon has found include the fact that not everyone agrees on what is golds stock-to-flow ratio, golds stock-to-flow isnt fixed, golds stock-to-flow does not drive its price, some metals with extremely low stock-to-flow ratios are worth more than gold, S2F doesnt explain the prices of other cryptocurrencies, S2F assumes that bitcoins demand continues to grow exponentially, and S2F underestimates the powers that be.

It is also worth noting that Plan B has blocked Francis Tapon on Twitter as well. According to Tapon, he had sent Plan B his analysis for review and Plan B responded by saying: Blocked Reason: pure click-bait (flaw fail doomed, only old and debunked arguments). However, Tapon thinks that his arguments are valid and concluded his report by saying:

The stock-to-flow model has been a novel way of looking at bitcoins early, meteoric years. However, it will soon break because it predicts nonstop doubling year after year. Our solar system prohibits nonstop doubling. Lets be happy with a 14x return in the 2020s. That would result in a $100,000 BTC price in 2029. Still, I secretly hope Im wrong and that the stock-to-flow model is right.

In addition to Tapon, the digital currency proponent Eric Wall has been tweeting about Plan Bs models and his statements as well. On Saturday, Wall tweeted two photos of Plan B explaining what it would take to invalidate his S2F model. Despite the number of critiques published and contradictions, a slew of bitcoiners wholeheartedly believe in the S2F model.

On May 12, the secretary and vice-chairman of the Digibyte Foundation Rudy Bouwman tweeted: Preparing for the next bull run? How long can miners that havent switched off, continue mining with a loss? [The] S2F model has proven highly accurate in charting price performance. BTC to +$100K in the next 2 years? Two days prior, Quantmario published a report leveraging the S2F model called The LGS-S2F Bitcoin price formula It is safe to say that the stock-to-flow model isnt going anywhere for quite some time, but the S2F theory does have its critics.

What do you think about the stock-to-flow model and the criticism? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Twitter, Dan Popescu,

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

Read disclaimer

Continue reading here:
S2F Hopium: Report and Twitter Critics Find Flaws With Bitcoin's Stock-to-Flow Ratio - Bitcoin News

Covid-19 Economy Fuels Faith in Crypto: Trust In Bitcoin Over Banks Increased 3X Since 2017 – Bitcoin News

The market research organization, The Tokenist, recently published a report called Comparing Public Bitcoin Adoption Rates in 2020 vs 2017. The studys findings give a comprehensive look at the cryptocurrency ecosystem between 2017 and now. The researchers survey shows that since the post-Covid-19 economy is setting in, trust in bitcoin has grown 29% in the past three years.

A recently published study from the crypto think tank, The Tokenist, details that there is a growing trust in bitcoin over traditional investments like gold, stocks, and real estate. The market researchers leveraged a survey that was taken in April 2020 (5,421 participants in 24 countries) and collated several surveys from 2017 as well. The Tokenist utilized these polls to see how attitudes and perceptions have changed since the price fluctuations and the impact of Covid-19.

Faith in large financial institutions has been steadily waning for more than a decade and the COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated this process, the report highlights. Bitcoin, itself developed in the years after the 2008 market crash as an alternative to traditional assets, stands to be a major beneficiary of this trend.

The Tokenist also leveraged surveys from the companys mailing list and another that saw 4,852 participants in 17 countries. According to the studys findings, The Tokenist researchers have found that there is a trend of individuals with positive sentiment regarding BTC as a long term store of value.

The findings note that over 45% of respondents preferred Bitcoin rather than stocks, real estate, and gold, and 61% of the total respondents (and 78% of millennials) are now somewhat familiar with BTC, and 14% of millennials have owned the asset. The report continued:

47% of respondents trust Bitcoin over big banks, an increase of 29% in the past three years. 43% of respondents, and 59% of millennials, feel that most people will be using Bitcoin within the next decade. In 2020, 44% of millennials report that they are likely to buy BTC in the next five years. More than one in three millennials would hold onto Bitcoin they are given, while a slightly smaller number (27%) would immediately sell it. 39% of male millennials now have no problem with the intangible nature of BTC, and a quarter of millennials as a whole report the same attitude.

The report finds that the attitude toward BTC, in general, is more positive and optimism has increased by 27% during the last three years. 60% of respondents felt that Bitcoin is a positive innovation in financial technology, The Tokenists report concludes. Increased familiarity with Bitcoin has convinced many that it is a positive force, the papers authors added.

What do you think about The Tokenists researchers surveys and findings? Let us know in the comments below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, The Tokenist

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

Read disclaimer

See the original post:
Covid-19 Economy Fuels Faith in Crypto: Trust In Bitcoin Over Banks Increased 3X Since 2017 - Bitcoin News

45 Older-Generation Bitcoin Miners Are Unprofitable After the Reward Halving – Bitcoin News

On May 11, the Bitcoin network experienced its third block reward halving, which had chopped the 12.5 BTC reward to 6.25 coins following the event. Its been close to a week later, and data stemming from mining rig profitability websites show that more than 45 older generation devices are not profitable right now at todays bitcoin exchange rates.

Recent research analysis by 8btc columnist Vincent He and the cryptocurrency mining operation F2pool, indicates that roughly 45 older mining devices have been shut down overnight since the reward halving. Statistics from the web portal Asicminervalue.com, also indicate that the estimate of 45 miners is based on the electrical price of 0.35 Chinese yuan per kilowatt-hour (kWh) or $0.049 USD.

The best mining device out of the entire slew of unprofitable mining rigs would be Bitmains Antminer S11 (20.5 TH/s), which still loses $0.09 per day at $0.049 per kWh. Other machines that are not making profits at this rate, include the Bitfury Tardis, Antminer S9 SE, GMO Miner B2, Innosilicon T2 Turbo, Bitfily Snow Panther B1, Canaan Avalonminer 921, and the popular Antminer S9. Data shows that at $0.049 per kWh, Bitfurys B8 released in 2017 with 49 TH/s, suffers a deep loss of more than $3 a day.

According to Vincent He, with the electric charge of 0.3 Chinese yuan per kWh, the electric charge of an S9 can account for 140% of the whole cost. The Chinese mining operation F2pool states:

Now, only when the price of the bitcoin rises to $15,000, can Antminer S9 cover the cost. In the past, even if there were a mining disaster and the price dump of the mining machine, someone would still buy S9. Most of the recipients are the owners of large mining farms. When the bitcoin price recovers, they can mine it by themselves or sell it to others to earn the difference.

Two days ago, the crypto community finally could observe the loss of SHA256 hashrate that followed the reward halving on May 11. On May 11, the overall BTC hashrate was 121 exahash per second (EH/s) and on May 15, 2020, the overall hashrate is around 110 EH/s. However, statistics from Fork.lols 12-hour intervals show the hashpower could be even lower than that today. These statistics would indicate that a number of operations that leverage older-generation mining rigs, likely fell off the map.

Now everyone knows that in places like China, Central Asia, and Iran, some miners can get free electricity or pay as little as $0.02 per kWh. So taking metrics from Asicminervalue.com and changing the electrical cost to $0.02 per kWh, indicates that only eight mining rigs are unprofitable at that energy rate. Mining rigs that cannot profit at 2 cents per kWh include the Whatsminer M3X, Avalonminer 741, Whatsminer M3, Antminer S7-LN, Antminer S3, Antminer V9, Antminer S7, and the Antminer S5. These eight machines are losing anywhere between $0.09 to $0.19 per day respectively at current BTC exchange rates.

Vincent Hes report also notes that the well known Antminer S9 had also dropped in value on secondary markets almost overnight. The Chinese reporter claims that $100 has been removed from most peoples listings and an older generation Antminer S9 will sell for 100 Chinese yuan (about $14). Years ago, the S9s with 13 TH/s or above accounted for more than 70% of the SHA256 hashrate. The report also highlights that a mining operation owner from the Sichuan province sold his small farm with 8,000 mining rigs and six transformers roughly seven days prior to the halving event. The 8,000 mining rig farm owner, Zhou Wenbo, told the columnist that the buyer was not willing to take his older generation Antminer S9s, Avalonminers, and Innosilicon Terminator 2 machines.

If the data is changed back to $0.05 per kWh again, theres a great number of next-generation miners that are still very profitable at todays exchange rates. This includes the Antminer S19 Pro (110 TH/s), Antminer S19 (95 TH/s), Whatsminer M30S (86 TH/s), Antminer S17 (73 TH/s), and the Whatsminer M31S (70 TH/s). All of these mining devices make between $6-15 per day at $0.05 per kWh.

What do you think about the large number of unprofitable older generation miners? Let us know in the comments below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Asicminervalue.com, Ebay, Fork.lol, Blockchain.com

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

Read disclaimer

See original here:
45 Older-Generation Bitcoin Miners Are Unprofitable After the Reward Halving - Bitcoin News

Bitcoin is pouring out of exchanges as price flirts with $10K – Decrypt

Users continue to withdraw Bitcoin from exchanges in record numbers, as the original king of crypto inches towards $10,000.

Liesl Eichhols, a growth strategist at blockchain research firm Glassnode, wrote about the trend in Glassnodes latest weekly report. The report noted that Bitcoins overall market health and the sentiment of its investors, based on data collected by Galssnode, is in a strong place.

And while not overly bullish, theres still a sense of optimism in the market. Its reflected in the price of Bitcoin, which continues to flirt with $10,000. But its also reflected in another data point: how much Bitcoin is being withdrawn from exchanges.

According to Glassnode, users are withdrawing their Bitcoin in droves. Bitcoin holders have been withdrawing from exchanges ever since the March 12 crash in a withdrawing spree that has become the largest and most prolonged BTC exchange balance downtrend in Bitcoin's history.

This activity, Glassnode postulates, may be attributed to bullish sentiment in light of Bitcoins halvingthat once-in-four-years event that caused quite a ruckus within the crypto industry last weekconsidering that the trend began in the weeks leading up to the halving and has continued after it.

A possible explanation for this decrease is that investors are withdrawing funds from exchanges to hold in cold storage, implying a longer-term outlook, the report stated.

Data that suggests small account holders are rising (alongside the balance in Bitcoin whales wallets, as well) corroborates this view, Glassnode wrote in its report.

But theres another factor that could explain why Bitcoin holders are moving their funds away from centralized exchanges.

During the Black Thursday market crash, the Seychelles-based BitMEX exchange suffered a technical snafu that may have contributed to Bitcoins historic plunge during the macro market selloff. Once the place to trade Bitcoin futures, BitMEX has since lost major market share to competitors, and exchange withdraws may play into a trend of distrust that exchanges like BitMEX have engendered in Bitcoin investors.

Instead, Bitcoin holders may be opting to trust themselves with their coins morewhich is how Bitcoin was intended to be used in the first place.

See the rest here:
Bitcoin is pouring out of exchanges as price flirts with $10K - Decrypt

Here’s when Bitcoin will actually reach 99.99% uptime – Decrypt

In approximately 2,005 days, Bitcoin will achieve the holy grail of the four ninesthat is, 99.99% uptime for its global blockchain network. According to in-house calculations, we estimate Friday November 14, 2025 as the date when Bitcoin will reach the milestone, assuming nothing goes wrong in the meantime.

Bitcoin is estimated to have been functional for 99.985% of its existence thus far. In fact, that number would be as high as 100% if we measured only from 2013 onwards.

But Bitcoin has gone down twice. In 2010 a value overflow incident saw two Bitcoin addresses erroneously granted 92.2 billion coins each. In this instance, the blockchain was down for eight hours and twenty seven minutes before a softfork (minor update) effectively cancelled the bugged transactions.

In 2013, Bitcoin briefly went down after a block was rejected by certain miners running different versions of the Bitcoin client. This resulted in a short chain split which was resolved after six hours and twenty minutes when miners reorganized themselves onto the same client.

Dan Held, director of business development at crypto exchange Kraken, posted a video to the main cryptocurrency subreddit which claimed Bitcoin already had maintained a higher uptime than Amazon, Google and Facebook.

However, not everyone thinks comparing Bitcoins uptime to the worlds largest tech companies is a solid metric. As one commenter on Helds post suggested, perhaps Bitcoins uptime should be compared with that of other currencies:

Why compare a currency to tech companies? How much uptime did paying with usd have? 100%, they claimed.

Although some dispute thisclaiming the US dollar has indeed, had downtime. A Reddit post in 2017 pointed out that hyperinflation and other monetary policies stopped the first version of the dollar in its tracks. Four years later, it returned as the dollar we know today. Those four years put it at 98.36% uptime, arguably less than Bitcoin. But by this point, the discussion is too meta to really make any sense.

Link:
Here's when Bitcoin will actually reach 99.99% uptime - Decrypt

Bitcoin.com’s Mining Video Censored: The Tale of Youtube’s Blatant Censorship and Propaganda – Bitcoin News

During the last few years, the Google-owned Youtube platform has been accused of massive censorship and in the last three months, the video streaming business resembles the Ministry of Propaganda, more than an online video-sharing platform. This week Bitcoin.com was also censored for sharing a video about our bitcoin mining pool. Bitcoin.coms Youtube account was given one strike for allegedly violating community guidelines.

When the online video-sharing platform Youtube was first released in February 2005, it was a community of people sharing ideas with very little censorship and moderation. Nowadays, Youtube is under the ownership of Google, and the firms CEO Susan Wojcicki has been outspoken about removing videos. Weeks ago, Wojcicki told CNN that any videos that went against the WHO narrative in regards to the Covid-19 outbreak would be removed.

Last year, Youtube de-platformed a myriad of alt-right and so-called conspiracy groups and removed these channels from the video streaming site. Youtube also started harassing cryptocurrency content creators and Youtubers who operated channels that discussed bitcoin and other digital assets. During the holiday season in 2019, Youtube officials purged a massive number of cryptocurrency video channels for very little reasoning. The company typically just tells the person that the channel had violated community guidelines.

Prior to Bitcoin.coms recent video removal and strike, Wojcickis words came to fruition as her company banned many videos that spoke out against the WHOs narrative when it came to an oppositional narrative toward official coronavirus data. Youtube and Wojcicki took it upon themselves to shelter the public from an opposite narrative that claims herd immunity works and the fatality rate for Covid-19 was extremely over-exaggerated.

We now know that the proof is right in front of our faces and many respected scientific think tanks and epidemiologists have told the public that the lockdowns were very irrational. Despite the proof, Youtube has banned a number of videos that go against the ongoing fear-mongering narrative. When a video was posted on Youtube that featured Dr. Daniel W. Erickson and Dr. Artin Massihi from California, the video got 5 million views before it was removed. Youtubes excuse was:

We quickly remove flagged content that violate [sic] our Community Guidelines, including content that explicitly disputes the efficacy of local health authority recommended guidance on social distancing that may lead others to act against that guidance.

Youtube also banned a video called Plandemic, which featured Dr. Judy Mikovits soon after it was published on the online video sharing platform. Youtube, however, does allow videos that rebut Judy Mikovits, Daniel W. Erickson, and Dr. Artin Massihis narratives. The company has no issues allowing rebuttals that stay on course with the fear-mongering narrative.

But any dissenting views against the lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, and social distancing continued to be removed to this day. The former head of biostatistics, epidemiology, and research design at Rockefeller University, Dr. Knut M. Wittkowski, recently told the public that Youtube had banned his video that went against the lockdown, and over-reaction narrative after it gathered more than 1.3 million views. Dr. Andrew Kaufmans videos were also removed, when he spoke out against the stay-at-home narrative and the data spread by people like the epidemiologist Neil Ferguson.

Now Youtube has banned one of Bitcoin.coms videos for sharing information about our mining pool. The video removal was based on the companys sale of regulated goods policy and the video allegedly went against community guidelines. The Bitcoin.com account was given a single strike, which gives the account a one week probation period. Two to three strikes could lead to far worse restrictions against the Bitcoin.com account that merely shares information and resources about cryptocurrency solutions. Bitcoin.coms CEO Mate Tokay has spoken out against the Youtube censorship in a tweet letting the company and Wojcicki know they have been immoral.

History shows that censorship has produced some manipulated realities and it has furthered evil time and time again. Youtube is a private company and it can do whatever it wants, but the censorship still speaks volumes on the companys tethered relationship with the status quo. Theres a reason why cryptocurrency videos are removed and it is because it goes against Youtubes financial masters. The reason why Youtube bans certain groups is because those groups gain grass-roots attention and make people think critically.

Youtube has banned videos that go against the Covid-19 narrative as well, because people started realizing that a virus with a 99% survival rate isnt as horrible as we all thought. Concrete evidence shows that the lockdowns and stay-at-home orders did absolutely nothing, even though Youtube continues to scream the less-powerful Covid-19 mantras. Staying at home saves lives, Were all in this together, Flatten the curve, and other propaganda slogans are still aired on nearly every ad published on Youtube today.

Censorship and propaganda techniques paint a clear perspective of Youtubes true colors. Censoring Bitcoin.coms mining video bolsters the argument that Youtube does not have the best interests of global citizens in mind. If anything, people who understand Youtubes vile acts of censorship and misinformation, should vacate the platform in great numbers and leverage a more decentralized online video sharing application like Lbry, or Bitchute. As the economic think tank Fee.org has said: Youtubes censorship of dissenting doctors will backfire.

What do you think about Youtubes censorship and propaganda techniques these last few months? Let us know in the comments below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Youtube, Twitter,

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

Read disclaimer

Visit link:
Bitcoin.com's Mining Video Censored: The Tale of Youtube's Blatant Censorship and Propaganda - Bitcoin News

P2P Bitcoin Trade Volumes and Inflation in Latin America Are on the Rise – Bitcoin News

During the last two months since the March 12 crypto market rout, otherwise known as Black Thursday, demand for cryptocurrencies seems to be on the rise in certain regions in Latin America. Various reports published this week have noted that countries like Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Mexico have seen significant bitcoin trade volumes. However, other reports show that even though the volumes are high in these specific countries, they are hard to measure due to inflation or hyperinflation.

A lot of bitcoin trade volume has been taking place in a variety of Latin American countries. Peer-to-peer marketplaces that sell cryptocurrencies are seeing strong volumes in these regions. According to Coin Dance volume statistics, Colombia, Brazil, and Chile have seen significant bitcoin trade volumes on Localbitcoins week after week. Venezuela and Argentina bitcoin trade volumes indicate new all-time highs and the trend can be seen on Paxful, Mycrypto, Local.Bitcoin.com, and other platforms as well. Because of this vast crypto trade volume in Latin America, it had prompted a number of financial news outlets to report that there is significant demand stemming from these areas. For instance, Nikkei Asian Review staff writer Naoyuki Toyama recently wrote that bitcoin shines in emerging markets plagued by falling currencies, and from Bueno Aires to Beirut, investors embrace cryptocurrency as a safe haven.

Despite the reports, a few media outlets like Decrypt, Crypto Globe, and a few others showed a different side of the story. For instance, it seems people are not taking into account that the fiat currencies in these countries are becoming less valuable every day. Yes, the volumes are at an all-time high in Argentina, but inflation is worse than it has ever been for Argentines in three decades. Well before the coronavirus, Argentinas inflation rate hit 53.8% at the end of 2019.

Venezuela is the same way, as the inflation rate for Venezuelans is massive. In February 2020 the inflation rate was 2,910%, but it did fall to 2,430% in March. However, the significantly larger inflation rate in Venezuela makes it the worst inflation rate in the world by a long shot. Despite the fact that Localbitcoins trade volumes in the country are touching an all-time high, it doesnt compare to the trade volumes in 2017 when the bolivar was worth more.

The Covid-19 pandemic has made things worse in these countries as the economies in Chile, Venezuela, Columbia, Mexico, and all the other regions with high BTC trade volumes have worsened. The troubles have gotten so bad in Venezuela, this week President Nicolas Maduro enacted a rent and wage freeze across the whole country. On many occasions, Localbitcoins data has had some discrepancies, particularly when it used to serve Iran. Not too long ago, many individuals and publications said that Iranians were paying $24,000 per BTC.

The problem with that price estimate was a common misconception about the exchange rate in Iran and how it works. At the time, people observed that one BTC was around a billion Iranian rials, but the exchange rate math is entirely different. An Iranian national named Mehran Jalali explained when these $24K per BTC headlines came out, how people can get the market rate using USD, and the Iranian rial. The going market rate for the U.S. dollar to the Iranian rial is one dollar to 136,500 rials, Jalali said this past January. Making things even more confusing, news.Bitcoin.coms Kevin Helms reported on how Iranian lawmakers recently discussed slashing four zeros from the rial. Localbitcoins, however, banned Iranian traders from swapping digital currencies on the platform and residents now have to leverage other options.

Its hard to measure how much demand is stemming from any country based on Localbitcoins volumes alone. Especially when there are huge discrepancies and massive inflation ruining these fiat currencies from various Latin American countries. The same could be said for the U.S. dollar someday, and economists have predicted the end of the USD after the petro-dollar collapse. Analysts forecast that BTC could reach 1 million dollars, at some point in time, and it very well could happen in the midst of hyperinflation in the U.S. if it was to occur. A number of economists think that the demise of USD very well could happen especially amid the Federal Reserve creating trillions of dollars out of thin air. So if you think about it logically and envision BTC touching a million USD per coin Would it be very meaningful if the USD was near worthless?

What do you think about the trade volumes in Latin America taking inflation into consideration? Let us know what you think about this topic in the comments below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Coin Dance, Local.Bitcoin.com

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

Read disclaimer

Read the original post:
P2P Bitcoin Trade Volumes and Inflation in Latin America Are on the Rise - Bitcoin News

Slavov iek Shakes the World with the First Book on COVID-19 – The Bottom Line

Ethan Yu

Contributing Writer

Slavov iek, the famous Slovenian philosopher also known as the Elvis of cultural theory and The Most Dangerous Philosopher of the West, just published a brand new book this April titled PANDEMIC!: COVID-19 Shakes the World that may shake your worldview. In his erudite, yet lucid writing style that draws from Marx to Tarantino films, from Hegel to dirty jokes, iek makes the impassionate call for Communism once again as COVID-19 wrecks the world.

In 11 short chapters, topics range from a biblical exegesis of John 20:17 to an analysis of the pandemic through Elisabeth Kbler-Ross five stages of grief. iek explores how our ideological systems caught [us] unprepared by the [COVID-19] catastrophe despite scientists warning us about it for years.

In almost 150 pages, iek looks at the intricacies of capitalism through popular movies, books, current events, and Lacanian psychoanalysis to show it deeply alienates us from our work and ourselves as spiritual beings. iek shows that the act of writing is not only to describe and to interpret the world, but to change it.

In the novel, iek speaks with the rhetorical force of a Marx: Things we were used to as part of our daily life will no longer be taken for granted, we will have to learn to live a much more fragile life with constant threats in other words, if we understand philosophy as the name for our basic orientation in life, we will have to experience a true philosophical revolution.

PANDEMIC! is daring, especially since it was written in such a short amount of time. The fact that iek was able to produce numerous interesting analyses on the pandemic since global quarantine measures have been enacted shows the speed and power of his far-ranging thought.

However, the books speedy production has caused one of its biggest flaws: some of the chapters are too short and consist of re-published material from articles previously written by iek.

In particular, two chapters, both ripped from his own online articles, address a debate iek is currently having with Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben on the role of the state to implement quarantine. Albeit fascinating, these chapters couldve been significantly edited as well as featured Agambens responses to make more sense to the general reader.

Nonetheless, PANDEMIC! is bound to be provocative to whoever reads it, whether you consider yourself a staunch leftist or an adamant conservative. Exemplifying ieks revelry through joke and paradox, the back of the book promises to uncover deeper meanings of the pandemic, yet claims in the first chapter that the epidemic just happened and hides no deeper meaning.

He compares the unity one feels with Christ when abandoned by God to Julian Assange, isolated in his prison cell. He doubts the epidemic will make us wiser, yet constantly suggests the arrival of a form of Communism as a result of the coronavirus.

Finally, he also says that hes not trying to legitimize suffering, yet divinates from the virus a message from nature: What you did to me, I am now doing to you.

Whether or not the contradictions work in his favor to demonstrate the complexity of our modern times which requires multiple political, psychoanalytical, and philosophical approaches to analyze readers will not be disappointed by hearing ieks revolutionary call for change.PANDEMIC!: COVID-19 Shakes the World by Slavoj iek is available at OR Books (Paperback: $15/E-book: $8) and Amazon. All royalties will be donated to Mdecins Sans Frontires.

Visit link:
Slavov iek Shakes the World with the First Book on COVID-19 - The Bottom Line

Corrections: May 15, 2020 – The New York Times

FRONT PAGE

An article on Wednesday about the potential impacts that Manhattan would face if companies decide to let their employees work from home permanently misspelled the name of the owner of Aux Epices restaurant. She is Mei Chau, not Mei Cahu.

An article on Thursday about the reopening of European countries before the summer travel season misstated what had been the projected value of cross-border travel in Europe in 2020. It was 1.3 trillion euros, or $1.4 trillion, not 1.3 billion euros.

An article on Thursday about the response by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany to a Russian hack misattributed responsibility for a 2016 cyberattack in which 900,000 Germans lost access to internet and telephone services. The attack was carried out by a British citizen, not Russia. The article also misstated when the attack took place. It was in November, not December.

An article on April 30 about newly revealed court documents that unveiled private exchanges between President Trumps longtime friend Roger Stone and the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange referred incorrectly to Mr. Assanges response to the special counsel investigation by Robert S. Mueller III. He did not refuse to cooperate; his lawyers said that investigators on that team never contacted him.

A picture caption with an article on Wednesday about shortages of staple items at grocery stories in New York lacked context and could have left readers with the impression that Morton Williams stores have been emptied of their inventory. The image was taken in March, shortly after the citys shutdown began. It does not reflect the current situation at Morton Williams stores.

Errors are corrected during the press run whenever possible, so some errors noted here may not have appeared in all editions.

To contact the newsroom regarding correction requests, complaints or other comments about our coverage, please email nytnews@nytimes.com.

Go here to read the rest:
Corrections: May 15, 2020 - The New York Times

Positivity, Linux, FOSS and potting sheds – Tech Wire Asia

In conversation with Nick Mailer, founder of The Positive Internet Company, a company thats been in the free and open-source camp ever since its start. We discuss why every desktops a Linux desktop, how the potting shed mentality of the British psyche led to ARMs world domination, and the fact that Positives green credentials are usually an afterthought for many of its clients, but a central tenet of the company.

When it was founded, Positive Internet decided that open source software was the way to go. More than 20 years later, they seem to have been right about that particular choice (although Nicks love of Perl and Vim may be more debatable). The company was founded in the same year a certain American startup opened shop, though Google has, it has to be mentioned, taken a rather different trajectory.

With land dedicated to rewilding projects and a data center in the fenlands of Cambridgeshire (where wind power is pretty much unlimited), Positive Internet now has a global reach, with international offices and clients (including a one R. Stallman Esq.) all over the world. We spent an hour with Nick chewing the fat; this podcast is just some of the conversations many highlights. Enjoy!

The Positive Internet Companys site (contains giraffe imagery):

Home

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephedwardgreen/

Joe Green | @Joe__Hybrid

Joe Green is a writer based in Bristol, UK. He bought his first Mac and dial-up modem in 1992 and has worked in the tech industry since 2000. He writes for a variety of publications and specialises in networking, business process management systems and databases.

Go here to read the rest:
Positivity, Linux, FOSS and potting sheds - Tech Wire Asia