Posted in Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Exchanges

Crypto Exchanges Report Outages as Bitcoin Price Rises

Bitcoin (BTCUSD) prices go up, cryptocurrency exchanges subsequently fall. Operations at bitcoin exchange platforms have been impacted by the recent rally in Bitcoin prices.

North America’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, experienced “connectivity issues” while Bitcoin was crossing the $40,000 mark on Thursday. However, after approximately four hours, the company’s support team tweeted that all supposed problems had been resolved.

According to Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, Bitcoin price crossed $20,000 last year and caused an outage. Another major cryptocurrency exchange, Kraken, experienced similar connection issues due to “heavy loads” but was back up after three hours.

After Bitcoin’s price fluctuations caused multiple disruptions of operations at Coinbase, the exchange went down. During the Bitcoin rally of 2017, there was a sharp selloff in cryptocurrency markets which effected Coinbase. Last year as Bitcoin gathered moremomentum,Coinbase experienced numerous outages. The issue has not only been effecting its retail-focused app, but also its institutional investor focused offering: Coinbase Pro.

The San Francisco-based company, with more users than Charles Schwab, is one of the biggest cryptocurrency trading platforms in the world. Downtime for this platform could have a significant effect on trading volumes for Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency’s price has increased rapidly due to global macroeconomic instability and institutional interest, leading to an influx of retail investors.

According to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, downtime issues at his exchange are due to “scaling issues.” In the past, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong tweeted that the company was investing in additional servers and customer support so that it could handle increased traffic loads better in the future.

That should be good news for investors, since the firm has submitted an IPO application. When Bitcoin’s price rises as a result of increasing consumer and institutional demand, the markets will not tolerate operational issues.

Posted in CBDC, Cryptocurrency

Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)

Central bank digital currencies are digital tokens that function like cryptocurrency and are created by a central bank. They are linked to the country’s fiat currency value.

CBDCs are being developed and implemented in a number of countries. Because so many nations are looking into how to move to digital currencies, it’s critical to comprehend what they are and what they imply for society.

Fiat money is a type of legal tender that can be used to purchase goods or services. It is created by a government and not backed by physical commodities such as gold or silver. In the past, fiat money has taken on the form of banknotes and coins but with advancing technology, balances and transactions are now recorded digitally.

Even though physical currency is still used and accepted by many, some wealthier countries have witnessed a significant drop in its utilization – which then speedily increased during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

The introduction and development of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology have stoked the interest of cashless societies and digital currencies. As a result, governments and central banks across the world are considering the viability of using government-issued electronic money. These currencies would be fully trusted and backed by the government that created them, just like fiat money is today.

In the US and worldwide, many individuals do not have access to financial services. For example, in America 5% of adults don’t own a bank account. Also, 13% percent of people who do have bank accounts use other more costly methods like money orders or check-cashing instead.

The main objective of CBDCs is to provide businesses and consumers with privacy, mobility, convenience, accessibility, and financial security. CBDCs might also help to simplify the maintenance of a sophisticated financial system while lowering cross-border transaction costs for individuals who presently use alternative money transfer methods.

Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, with their value constantly fluctuating. This volatility could cause severe financial stress in many households and affect the overall stability of an economy. Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), backed by a government and controlled by a central bank, would provide households, consumers, and businesses with a stable means of exchanging currency digitally. In other words, CBDC use would reduce risks associated with digital currencies in their current form.

CBDCs are divided into two categories: wholesale and retail. Financial institutions use wholesale CBDCs the most frequently. Consumers and businesses utilize retail CBDCs, much like real currency.

Wholesale CBDCs would be like having reserves in a central bank. The central bank offers an institution an account for either depositing funds or to use for settling interbank transfers. With these accounts, the central banks then have more power to set interest rates and use other monetary policies, such as reserve requirementsInterest on reserve balances.

CBDCs are government-sponsored digital money for consumers and companies. The risk that private digital currency issuers might go bankrupt and lose customers’ assets is eliminated by retail CBDCs.

Cryptocurrencies offer a look at a different type of currency system in which onerous rules do not influence each transaction. They’re difficult to counterfeit or duplicate and are protected by consensus algorithms that verify data. Central bank digital currencies, on the other hand, are designed to function similarly to cryptocurrencies but may be devoid of blockchain technology and consensus mechanisms.

Cryptocurrencies are unpredictable and not protected by governments. Their value rises and falls according to people’s thoughts about them, how often they’re used, and public interest. They tend to be unstable, which makes them poor choices for use in an economic system that needs steadiness. Centrally controlled digital currencies (CBDCs) follow the same path as traditional money issued by government agencies. CBDCs are created to maintain a stable value.

 

Posted in Cryptocurrency, Payments

How to Make a Cryptocurrency Payment

Cryptocurrencies were designed to be used as anonymous payments, yet this use is often forgotten in the midst of media frenzy surrounding cryptocurrency prices. While price changes are important, it is more critical to understand how to use cryptocurrency for payments. After all, cryptocurrencies are becoming increasingly popular and accepted methods of payment.

Although cryptocurrency may be confusing, using it as a form of payment is not. Read on to find out how and where you can use your crypto coins.

The procedure of sending and receiving cryptocurrency used to be much more difficult. Sending a currency used to entail diving into the command line on your computer and building a transaction. The complicated procedure of sending and receiving crypto has now been made considerably easier, just like using an app to send or receive money to or from your bank account. How you start the payment depends on the application you choose, but in general, here’s how it works.

To acquire a cryptocurrency, you don’t need an account with a bank, exchange, firm, or other organization. Setting up a wallet and sending or receiving crypto is one of the simplest and more secure ways to obtain cryptocurrency unless you’re familiar with it.

A regulated cryptocurrency exchange will let you trade fiat money for bitcoin. It will also provide you with additional features if required, such as storing your private keys or assisting you with technical difficulties. When you first create an account and fund it for your crypto purchases, a reliable one like Coinbase, Binance.US, Kraken, or Gemini can get you started.

Before you can make a payment using cryptocurrency, you must install a wallet application on your computer or mobile device. This will act as an interface between you and your crypto.

Your wallet doesn’t actually hold crypto; instead, it keeps the keys you’ll need to access them—your private keys. In transactions, your wallet has a public key that works like an email address; it’s used to send and receive payments.

With the hundreds of different wallets on the market, it is important to choose one that will work well for you. Some are compatible with many cryptocurrencies, while others can only be used with a select few.

Many cryptocurrency exchanges offer a wallet to their users that allows for the transferring of funds to other exchange users or Touchless payments using NFC-enabled devices. Some wallets can even use your camera phone to scan QR codes and create unique addresses.

Cryptocurrency is still in its early stages, but the number of locations you can use it to pay for things and services is rapidly expanding. Most businesses that take cryptocurrency payments employ cryptocurrency payment gateways, which are payment service providers that usually guarantee crypto-to-fiat conversion at the time of the transaction so there is no price slippage.

The following businesses either accept crypto as payment or through a service provider:

Microsoft

Paypal

Overstock

Starbucks

Newegg

AMC Theaters

AT&T

Several brick-and-mortar businesses and merchants are also starting to accept bitcoin. Those that do will generally use point-of-sale hardware connected to one of the payment service providers. Signs on the doors, windows, or at the cash register indicating which cryptocurrency is accepted are commonly seen.

 

You can now use your cryptocurrency wallets to shop at a number of online and offline stores.

Many wallets are able to hold more than one kind of cryptocurrency, which makes it easy to use your preferred coin no matter where you are.

Payment service gateways and providers enable online merchants and some brick-and-mortar businesses to take crypto payments. Newegg, Overstock, Starbucks, and Twitch are well-known retailers.

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