On May 16, the Central Bank of Cuba will begin issuing licenses for the use of cryptocurrencies in economic activities. The authorities are going to allow the cryptocurrency because of the consequences of the coronacrisis and US sanctions, which have been destroying the country's economy for 60 years.Cuba is a "passing prize"The first settlements on the island were founded by Spanish colonists in the early 16th century and ruled for almost three centuries. Then the metropolis brought African slaves and began to use the land for sugar cane and tobacco – the "oil" of that time.Cuba received relative freedom only at the end of the 19th century after an uprising of local residents and a long war for independence. Spain lost its influence in the Caribbean region, and the United States took its place. Nominally, the United States developed the economy and industry of Cuba, investing hundreds of millions, and then billions of dollars. In fact, they used it as a semi-colony: troops could enter at any moment, local authorities and production controlled it.Before World War I, about 90% of Cuba's exports were tobacco and sugar. Most of the agricultural territories were given over to them. Products for domestic consumption had to be imported – there were not enough of their own. At the same time, companies from the United States received privileges and imported goods to Cuba without duties.The country's economy suffered severely during the First and Second World Wars: first, the flow of goods from Europe stopped, then pro-American officials banned exports from the Soviet Union. As a result of the crisis, the poor could not get vital things, and the elite lived in comfort and luxury.In 1940, President Fulgencio Batista came to power – later he would be called a puppet of the United States. Under Batista, the capital of Cuba, Havana, became the "Latin American Las Vegas." The business was controlled by American monopolies and mafia clans. Businessmen from the United States owned 90% of the mining industry, 80% of utilities and fuel companies and half of sugar production. Batista received millions in bribes, and America turned a blind eye to numerous crimes: from the organization of brothels to drug and human trafficking.13 years later, a group of revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro rebelled against Batista. Impoverished and intimidated by the authorities, people joined the fight against tyranny. Castro promised to distribute land to peasants, ensure independence from the United States and improve the financial situation of Cubans. The resistance has been active for almost six years. A guerrilla war has begun in Cuba. By 1959, Castro's forces were able to capture the capital, and Batista lost control of the state and fled to the Dominican Republic. At the same time, the former dictator took most of the gold and foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank of Cuba."Friendship against the USA"The Castro government reformed the economy and nationalized most of the companies owned by Batista supporters. 60% of agricultural land was transferred to peasants, the rest went to the state. The authorities began to control the turnover of currencies and trade. Residents of the United States were forced to pay 100% tax on luxury goods and 25% on minerals.In response, the U.S. government stopped importing oil to Cuba and reduced the sugar trade. An economic war has begun between the countries. Castro continued to nationalize American companies, and the United States imposed an embargo: they stopped trading with the Island of Freedom, and any country that provided assistance to Cuba fell under sanctions.The USSR took advantage of the situation. The Soviets gave the Castro government $100 million in loans at 2.5% per annum. Specialists in geological exploration, builders and the military were brought to Cuba. The USSR provided the new ally with equipment, weapons and agricultural products, and in return received sugar, coffee, minerals and representation in the Caribbean. During the period of active trade with the Union, Cuba's economy grew. In the 80s, the country began to build solar and wind power plants, recycle recyclables. Over 20 years of cooperation, Cuba has turned into an industrial and agrarian power. But its economy continued to depend on its "curse" – cane sugar.At the same time, the United States declared Cuba a "sponsor of terrorism" and tightened the embargo again. However, by this time the diplomats were able to establish trade with Latin American countries. Uruguay, Argentina and Venezuela became new partners."Island of freedom" without UnionCuba's economy began to collapse after 1991. Despite diplomatic ties with Latin American and Caribbean countries, the country was dependent on the Soviet Union and still suffered from US sanctions. When the USSR collapsed, the Castro government had to switch to economy mode: there was nowhere to bring equipment and cheap oil in exchange for local goods. The sugar industry became the basis of the economy again, but tourism began to develop in Cuba in parallel.The United States has adopted additional sanctions. Now foreign companies trading with the "disgraced" country were threatened with restrictions. In Cuba, there was a shortage of food and medicines, interruptions in the supply of fuel and spare parts for equipment. GDP began to decrease. During the three years of the crisis, it has decreased by a third. To compensate for the losses, Cuba was looking for foreign partners and investments. Three free economic zones were organized on the island and part of the trade bans were lifted. The government began to create a socialist economy with elements of market relations. State-owned enterprises have introduced self-financing.The first effect of the reforms in Cuba was felt in 2001. Up to this point, the country's economy was shrinking by an average of 3-7% per year, and after that it began to grow. The country has reduced the state monopoly on foreign trade and began to recognize cooperative, private and mixed forms of ownership. After 2010, the government allowed local entrepreneurs to work and introduced a progressive taxation system. Cuba began to actively trade with countries that were less dependent on America. In particular, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez supplied up to 53,000 barrels of oil to the island daily, in response Cuba sent teachers, doctors and engineers to the new partner. By 2013, about 100,000 Cubans were working in Venezuela. One of the important sectors for the economy has become "medical internationalism". Local doctors started working all over the world.Hurricanes, COVID and new sanctionsCuba still continues to suffer because of the US blockade. The damage has already exceeded $104 billion. And taking into account the depreciation of the US currency — up to $ 1 trillion. After America imposed sanctions against Venezuela, Cuba's main partner began to have serious problems. They were reflected, among other things, on the Cubans. If earlier it was profitable to work in an oil-rich country, then after the Venezuelan crisis, this market almost closed. In addition, interruptions in oil supplies began.The country's economy was also affected by Hurricanes Dennis and Wilma in 2005, Gustav and Ike in 2008, Sandy in 2012. Each of them disabled infrastructure facilities, destroyed buildings and destroyed crops. The military had to deal with the consequences of natural disasters.Another serious blow was the coronavirus pandemic. Many medical professionals were working abroad when COVID was discovered in Cuba. And local doctors lacked medical equipment: there were many elderly people living in the country who were at risk. Officially, the country has coped with the crisis: it was able to introduce an effective system of protection against coronavirus, developed its own vaccines and started immunization. More than 5 million Cubans have been vaccinated against COVID-19. At the same time, the Cuban economy was in a precarious position: the flow of tourists dried up, and investment declined.Dinner for two for a month's salaryNow the "Island of Freedom" has a single currency – the Cuban peso (CUP). $1 = 23.98 CUP or 70-100 CUP at the "street rate". The authorities ask tourists to exchange American currency for euros in advance – banks do not accept and do not exchange USD.The average salary in Cuba for the last 4 years is about $33-45. At the same time:a kilogram of vegetables, a large loaf of bread or a bottle of water cost $0.5;a dozen eggs – $0.7;a liter of gasoline – $1;payment for communal services – $5-10;unlimited internet – more than $100 per month;dinner for two in a restaurant for tourists – up to $25;economy class car rental - $20;1 sq.m. of housing – from $1,500 to $5,000, in tourist areas – higher.Tourists and journalists who have visited Cuba note that it has become unprofitable to work in local industries. Most people live at the expense of relatives who have gone to work in other countries. It is enough to send $50-100 per month to provide for the family.Cubans themselves believe that the authorities have begun to resemble the "puppet government" of Batista. On the islands, "two parallel Cubes" coexist again: elites and Latin American businessmen live in luxury, and ordinary people are forced to live in shacks or sit on the necks of those who left the "Island of ...
USD/CHF: the U.S. currency updated the January low from 2015The USD/CHF trading instrument is developing downward dynamics, reaching the level of 0.8575 continuing its decline, updating the minimum of January 2015.The US dollar was under pressure during the current week on the background of published American macroeconomic data. As a reminder, the reporting reflected a decline in consumer inflation to 3.0% from the previous 4.0%, beating analysts' expectations of 3.1%, while the core reading fell to 4.8% from 5.3% year-on-year, but added 0.2% month-on-month to the previous 0.4% rise. Meanwhile, investors estimated manufacturing inflation, released a day earlier, reached a reading of 0.1% from 0.9% in the annualized reading, with experts expecting a decline to 0.4%, and for the month managed to add 0.1 to the previous month's negative 0.4%, with markets forecasting only 0.2%. Such a weakened inflation gives an opportunity for officials of the U.S. Federal Reserve System to announce the end of the cycle of correction of monetary stimulus. In turn, analysts continue to expect the cost of borrowing to strengthen by 0.25% at the end of the meeting in July.Resistance levels: 0.8650, 0.8700, 0.8756, 0.8800.Support levels: 0.8568, 0.8500, 0.8450, 0.8400.USD/CAD: Central Bank of Canada increased the cost of borrowing to the highest level since 2001During the morning session, the USD/CAD asset is testing the strong support level of 1.3100, having updated the low from September 2022.This week, the Canadian regulator, as predicted, decided to raise interest rates by 0.25%, reaching the target of 5.0%, thus updating the maximum since 2001, and the accompanying comments indicated that such a move became a necessity amid the mixed prospects for global GDP and high inflation in the world. According to officials, contrary to the decline in national consumer inflation for May to 3.4%, in the annualized value to the previous 4.4%, and the negative dynamics of the service sector is due to high spending and low unemployment. This situation was the reason to revise the forecasts, having decided that consumer prices will remain at 3.0% in 2024 and decline to the target of 2.0% by Q3 2024. Financial authorities in Canada allow further tightening of monetary stimulus, if necessary based on the economic situation in the country and the world.Resistance levels: 1.3150, 1.3200, 1.3250, 1.3300.Support levels: 1.3100, 1.3050, 1.3000, 1.2950.GBP/USD: the growth peak has not been passed yetThe GBP/USD currency pair is moving thanks to a strong upward momentum, updating the yearly high at 1.3140.The positive dynamics is due to the May statistics on the United Kingdom GDP volume, according to which the value decreased by 0.1% for the month against estimates of 0.3% and by 0.4% for the year, while 0.7% was expected. Investors believe that an economic recession will be avoided, while the inflation rate remains the highest among the G7 members and the national regulator regularly strengthens monetary parameters, which increases the burden on households.Resistance levels: 1.3183, 1.3305, 1.3427.Support levels: 1.2939, 1.2817.Cryptocurrency market reviewAt the end of the current week, the market of electronic assets was under the influence of "bulls", and the cost of BTC holds in the area of 31300.00, adding 3.6%, ETH can be purchased at the price of 2010.00, after an increase in price by 7.5%, USDT is quoted at 1.0010, gaining 0.04%, XRP soared to 0.7700, strengthening by 65.5%. The total market segment capitalization rose to $1.239 billion, with BTC accounting for 48.4% of the share.Investors expect the regulatory pressure factor to intensify in the short term. Unsuccessful results of the lawsuit against Ripple, most likely, will not stop the vector of tightening parameters on the conditions for the continuation of services provided by digital companies, which is being rapidly promoted primarily by the SEC. For example, pressure continues to be exerted by European and U.S. regulators on the world's largest trading platform, Binance, whose subsidiaries are being actively stripped of their previously issued licenses after allegations of regional law violations and fraudulent activities against the broker. The situation has worsened following the decision of a number of key management employees to leave the company, which was only exacerbated by a decline in the overall volume of trading transactions on the ...
USD/CHF: SECO shares Swiss GDP forecastsThe Swiss currency keeps trying to catch the initiative in the USD/CHF pair, being at 0.8970, but the upward dynamic is limited by the macroeconomic statistics.Thus, the Swiss State Secretariat of Economic Affairs published an article on the national economic growth outlook, which said that if the current rate continued, gross domestic product could grow by 1.1% in 2023 and by 1.5% in 2024. The faster pace is constrained by high commodity prices in international trade, creating risks for the coming quarters. Experts report that consumer inflation will fall to 2.3% by the end of this year, which is outside the 1.5-2.0% range set by the Swiss National Bank, preventing the franc from becoming the dominant currency against the U.S. dollar at the end of the year.Support levels: 0.8920 and 0.8820.Resistance levels: 0.9020 and 0.9150.Gold pricesThe price of the precious metal is influenced by mixed market sentiment, and is now holding in the area of 1950.00. The asset showed a moderate decline the day before, but continues to develop a sideways trend in the short term.Gold is experiencing negative factors amid a weak U.S. dollar, which is trying to regain ground on forecasts of a renewed upward correction of the key indicator from the Fed in the foreseeable future. At the end of the June meeting, the financial authorities decided to leave the value at the previous 5.25%, but giving a signal to the markets that the adjustment remains quite possible already at the July similar event. In their turn, economists note that the cost of borrowing is approaching its theoretical upper limit of 5.50-5.75%, which makes it impossible for the "American" to hope for further strengthening in the future.Resistance levels: 1952.53, 1960.00, 1972.85, 1985.11.Support levels: 1940.00, 1930.00, 1915.00, 1900.00.Oil market reviewDuring the APAC trading session, Brent crude oil quotations moved in mixed dynamics, holding positions at 75.85. "Black gold" found itself under pressure since Monday, moving away from the local maximum of June 8 due to the U.S. dollar correction, which got support from the prospects of another strengthening of the borrowing costs from the Fed next month, before the agency announced a break in the adjustment of monetary parameters in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the announced stimulus the day before.The negative dynamics is intensified due to the news background from China, where the authorities recorded a decrease in the dynamics of economic indicators recovery. China leads in imports of energy commodity group and is able to influence the balance between supply and demand on the trading floors. Today, on June 20, the board of the People's Bank of China issued a statement to reduce the interest rate by 1.00% to the target of 3.55%, which has not happened since August of the previous year. The current inflation rate gives room for maneuver for the authority to make such moves, but market participants indicated that the news was not positive.Resistance levels: 77.00, 78.78, 80.00, 81.00.Support levels: 75.63, 74.00, 73.00, 72.00.Cryptocurrency market overviewETH quotes show a decline against the U.S. dollar, trading at 1727.00.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) maintains a heightened interest in the compliance of cryptocurrency companies, which keeps pressure on the position of the electronic asset. Recall, the day before the regulator filed a complaint in the courts against major exchanges Coinbase and Binance, pointing to the platforms' ability to trade banned tokens such as Solana, Cardano and Polygon to securities. JPMorgan Chase & Co. later reported that ETH was also included in the initial version of the list, increasing tensions between investors, but in time followed a statement from the US Congress that, wishing to protect market participants, lawmakers could designate ETH a "special category" of cryptoassets and not equate the instrument with securities.Resistance levels: 1790.00, 1912.00.Support levels: 1650.00, ...
USD/CAD: the pair started the new trading week with growthThe trading instrument USD/CAD is developing a weak strengthening, recovering positions after their rapid loss a week earlier, where the pair was able to update the local minimum for May 8. The asset is kept in the area of 1.3350, continuing growth in anticipation of new incentives for movement of quotations.First of all, this week the meetings of the American and European regulators were announced. Moreover, the experts expect the European Central Bank to increase borrowing costs by 0.25% up to the target of 3.50%, meanwhile the USA financial authorities are going to leave the interest rate unchanged at 5.25%, the probability of such an outcome is estimated at 70.0%. Meanwhile, taking into account the unexpected increase in interest rates a week earlier by the Canadian and Australian Central Banks, the Fed may decide to take similar action. Recall that the day before the Bank of Canada announced a 0.25% interest rate adjustment to 4.75%, noting in an accompanying letter that the basis for such a decision was the consumer price index, which is still quite far from the regulator's target.Resistance levels: 1.3350, 1.3400, 1.3450 and 1.3500.Support levels: 1.3300, 1.3250, 1.3200, 1.3150.USD/JPY: the pair has taken a corrective strengthening courseThe currency pair USD/JPY is developing a weak strengthening, strengthening the position of the "bulls", who seized the initiative at the end of last week, and is testing the level of 139.50, remaining in the growth.The yen, in turn, is under moderate pressure amid today's Japanese statistics, confirming the zero probability of a change in the monetary policy vector by the agency's officials in the medium term. Thus, May price indexes of manufacturing companies showed -0.7% against last month's 0.2%, while experts estimated -0.2%, and the index of domestic prices for corporate group goods reduced to 5.1% from 5.8%, showing a lower than expected result of 5.5%. The day before the officials confirmed the Japanese regulator's meeting to be held by the end of the coming week and it is highly probable that the borrowings will remain at -0.10%.Resistance levels: 139.71, 140.23, 140.91 and 141.50.Support levels: 138.90, 138.00, 137.50, 136.50.Cryptocurrency market analyticsThe first cryptocurrency is developing a downtrend and made attempts to test the level of 25781.25 a week earlier, but did not achieve results.Electronic assets continue to be affected by negative factors due to the SEC's decision the day before to start legal proceedings against major cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Binance. The court's recognition of the legitimacy of the regulator's claims could result in the exchanges paying significant fines and even ceasing operations in the country. For its part, the official Hong Kong has assessed the prospects and has already made a proposal for the companies' management to change their jurisdiction and begin developing business in their country. Analysts predict increased pressure on digital capitals, as the White House is developing mechanisms to strengthen tax levies from the cryptosphere, and the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States by tightening legal prosecutions. Thus, the chairman of the financial authorities expressed doubts about the expediency of the existence of crypto-assets, as such, against the background of the existence of fiat capitals, which have the prospect to enter the digital markets in the future. Assessing the situation, investors initiate capital withdrawal from the sector.Resistance levels: 26800.00, 25781.25, 28125.00.Support levels: 25781.25, 25000.00, 24218.75.Crude Oil market analysis"Black gold" of the benchmark Brent brand is quoted in a significant decline, having resumed testing the level of 74.00. Oil is losing value amid the statements of the RBA and the Central Bank of Canada about the continuation of the hawkish vector on monetary parameters, which was the trigger for the revision of forecasts for the announced FOMC meeting.The asset meets resistance for development of growth on the market on the part of decrease in indicator of the cost of industrial goods in China, that signals about problems in realization of production. Thus, if the formed trend continues, the national production indicators will be revised in favor of capacity reduction and, as a consequence, reduction of energy consumption, reducing the forecasts for economic growth. Contrary to the upturn in economic performance due to the cancellation of epidemiological measures, the potential has now been nearly exhausted. Chinese consumer price statistics released the day before indicated a decline in inflation of 0.2% for May to -0.1% for April, while the annual rate accelerated to 0.2% from 0.1%, missing the 0.3% forecast.Resistance levels: 74.00, 74.62, 75.63, 77.00.Support levels: 73.00, 72.00, 71.00, ...
NZDUSD: sideways dynamics developing in the pairThe trading instrument NZDUSD demonstrates mixed sentiment, having resumed testing the level of 0.6200, developing a downtrend. Traders keep low activity, waiting for additional stimulus.Meanwhile, the New Zealand currency positively perceives the data from the Celestial Empire, which marked a rapid recovery of economic indicators as the authorities decided to depart from the "zero tolerance" principles to covid-19. Thus, by the end of the previous week the market participants estimated the business activity in the service sector index from Caixin, which improved its position for February to 55.0 points from 52.9 points with the estimate of 50.5 points. Meanwhile, the value of New Zealand exports declined 0.6% earlier, strengthening 3.1%, and in volume the same figure declined 6.3% versus an increase of 5.5% in the past. The average value of imports strengthened in the region of -2.1% versus an increase of 7.1% in the past, signaling continued problems with the country's economic performance.Resistance levels: 0.6250, 0.6288, 0.6350, 0.6400.Support levels: 0.6200, 0.6155, 0.6100, 0.6050.USDJPY: analysts failed to anticipate inflationThe USDJPY traded instrument showed moderate decline during Asian session, testing 135.73, continuing development of correction impulse formed since Friday, when the "American" retreated from the local high of December 20.The previous day macroeconomic data block did not meet the market expectations. Thus, the Tokyo consumer prices went down to 3,5% from the forecasted 4,4%, while the core value decreased to 3,3% from 4,3% against the expected 4,5% increase. The head of the Japanese government has already instructed to expand the population support program, as a result of which businesses and part of the needy population will be able to receive a government subsidy. The contradictory situation with consumer price dynamics leads investors to the conclusion that the new Head of Bank of Japan, who enters office in April, will support the current soft monetary parameters policy which was initiated by the predecessor.Resistance levels: 136.50, 137.50, 138.50, 139.50.Support levels: 135.57, 134.50, 133.61, 133.00.Gold prices analyticsThe precious metal is quoted near a new local high on February 15.The market retains the reduced dynamics of the deals, leaving the asset's inclination for the correctional decrease, taking into account the active strengthening during the previous week due to the weakening of the "American". The U.S. dollar is under pressure in anticipation of the U.S. Federal Reserve's winding down of the current interest rate adjustment phase due to the normalization of inflationary dynamics. At the same time, there is a rather "hawkish" mood among the officials of the financial department, and economists' expectations speak about the next cycle of the index increase by 0.25% already at the end of the next meeting. If the regulator decides to take a pause and take an observation position, experts admit that such a scenario is more likely by the middle or end of the summer than at present, in case the current trends persist. Meanwhile, the bank metal finds positive signals in the rapid pace of economic recovery in China, acting as a stimulus in the growing demand and a favorable price background, as well as mixed data on the dynamics of inflation in the euro area, where a short-term decline in some countries was again replaced by a trend to moderate growth. Thus, Germany's harmonized consumer inflation index for February strengthened to 9.3% from 9.2% for the year while analysts estimated a slowdown to 9.0%. The monthly figure accelerated by 1.0%, outperforming the January value by two times and experts' expectations of 0.7%.Resistance levels: 1869.49, 1886.46, 1900.00, 1915.00.Support levels: 1850.27, 1828.22, 1804.41, 1786.28.Cryptocurrency Market analysisLast week, the first cryptocurrency BTC ended with a downward correction, dropping to 22000.00, but at the time of writing the asset intends to recoup losses and is testing the 22400.00 level.Most analysts agree that the "bears" received a strong incentive on the information about the possible closure of the Silvergate financial institution, which closely cooperates with cryptocurrency exchanges, which increased the pressure on this market segment by an order of magnitude. So, the previous Friday was marked by a statement from representatives of the main company Silvergate Capital Corp. On the postponement of the release of the annual financial statements before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the audit has been extended against the background of accounting for losses of bonds that have been issued since the beginning of March. Such comments sowed guesses among the cryptocurrency community that negative market events had a strong negative factor on the capitalization of Silvergate, as a result of which the banking institution lost its financial viability. Such guesses became the driver for hasty termination of cooperation with the bank as a whole or maximum minimization of contacts from a number of digital companies. Among those who made such a decision were Bitstamp, Bakkt, Paxos, Galaxy Digital, Coinbase, Gemini, Tether and some other sites.Resistance levels: 23500.00, 25000.00, 26562.50.Support levels: 21875.00, ...
Today, on June 9, Ethereum developers informed the community about the successful merger of the oldest Ethereum Ropsten test network using the Proof-of-Work algorithm with the Beacon test network using the Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm, which was one of the final test steps before the full update of the Ethereum 2.0 network.Repeated testing of the chain with Proof-of-Stake, according to the developers, will allow for a secure merger of the existing blockchain with a new version of the block network and obtain a single effective Erhereum blockchain that will not have existing problems and will open the way for the introduction of innovative ideas in the development of a decentralized financial system and the digital economy as a whole.Before the full launch of Ethereum 2.0 with the deployment of PoS, two more mergers of the Beacon network with the Goerli and Seoplia test networks are planned.The final implementation of PoS in the Ethereum blockchain, according to co-founder Vitalik Buterin, should take place in August of this year.The market reacted sluggishly to the technologically important event that took place, and investors did not show high purchasing activity.Ethereum is trading at around $1,800 with no spikes in volatility.The acute foreign policy and macroeconomic situation today has a greater impact on the mood of investors seeking to preserve their capital than the prospect of future income.Therefore, analysts do not predict a surge in volatility even with the full completion of the Ethereum 2.0 update. Volatility may arise, perhaps, only if problems arise in the network that can affect user ...
The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, said that bitcoin is impractical as a means of payment. While cryptocurrencies are not being calculated massively. But today, large companies not only use blockchain, but also accept crypto as payment:Coca-Cola. In 2020, the corporation's Asia-Pacific division announced that it would allow customers in Australia and New Zealand to buy drinks with bitcoin and other coins. Payment is available through devices that accept digital payments.PayPal is the first payment system to add cryptocurrency for transactions. The company acts as an intermediary: the service will exchange cryptocurrency for ordinary dollars at the internal exchange rate, which already includes the cost of conversion.Visa and Mastercard, following PayPal, thought about the possibility of conducting transactions with cryptocurrencies. The systems focus on stablecoins, which have collateral in the form of real assets.Shopify is a platform for creating online stores. Thanks to the developers, the owners of these stores can accept cryptocurrency.Emirates. The airline from the UAE intends to accept bitcoins as payment. Moreover, Emirates will add its own NFT tokens to the site. This is not the first airline operating with cryptocurrencies. Latvian airBaltic has been selling tickets for the crypt for several years.Balenciaga, Gucci, Tag Heuer are also starting to accept cryptocurrency. Moreover, the new payment method will be available not only online, but also in regular stores using QR codes. And the first major retailer that started accepting the crypt was Overstock.Brazilian developer Gafisa announced that now an apartment can be bought for bitcoins. So the company wants to attract investors from other countries, and the cryptocurrency helps to transfer funds quickly and ...
Speaking at the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami, the president of the autonomous region of Madeira, Miguel Albuquerque, made several ambitious statements about the prospects of Bitcoin on the islands."I believe in the future and I believe in Bitcoin," Albuquerque said.He recalled that de facto, Bitcoin is already a legal means of payment on the island, since individuals in Madeira are not subject to capital gains tax when buying and selling bitcoins.The regional corporate tax rate on business on the islands is only 5% — one of the lowest in Europe, which is extremely beneficial for cryptocurrency startups.The President also met with MicroStrategy CEO Michael Taylor. He recommended that he "focus on Bitcoin. Everything else is garbage."Madeira is part of Portugal, which attracts crypto enthusiasts with its zero interest rates on cryptocurrency ...