Anything but fast

Good morning! Welcome to The Daily Moon. It’s football time. Visa has launched NFT versions of a few iconic football goals. During the FIFA World Cup 2022, fans will also get a chance to create digital art mimicking these goals. More NFTs to mint.

The markets were shaky on fears of a rate hike by the US Fed. Bitcoin was at $20,400 while Ethereum was at $1,550 levels. Nasdaq fell in early trade. Back home, Sensex and Nifty faced losses on rate increase expectations. 

Digital Yuan’s Stretched Runway

The “world’s first” central bank digital currency (CBDC) was launched 18 months ago. It is still in pilot mode. Digital Yuan or e-CNY was supposed to be the alternative to cash in China. But, the Chinese central bank has been unable to promise anonymity. 

What happened to e-CNY?Well, its status has remained unchanged since April 2021. It is WIP. There have been a bunch of use-cases developed, from shopping, to financial services, and entertainment. But people need to use it. 

There are 261 million e-CNY wallets. What the central bank didn’t reveal was that the average balance in individual wallets was ~$0.50 (Rs 40). Digital Yuan was also marketed at the Winter Olympics but restrictions for international users made it unusable. 

The administration also gave freebies. Shenzhen partnered with a food delivery platform and distributed $4.1 million worth e-CNY to local residents. Locals used it, but only when there were freebies attached. The central bank wants salaries to be paid in e-CNY so that people spend. No company has been onboarded so far. 

Then what’s it good for?We don’t have an answer yet. If the sole idea was to replace cash, online payments already exist. If it was to be an alt to digital assets such as Bitcoin, where’s the blockchain? 

Now what confuses us is that there is no set standard for CBDCs. Digital Yuan, for instance, is not built on a blockchain. India’s Digital Rupee may or may not use a blockchain. Meanwhile, Singapore’s monetary body hasn’t found real use-cases for an e-Singapore Dollar. But everyone wants one. If only there was a solution available across the world?  

BTC’s Fixed at 20K

Bitcoin has found a new bottom at $20,000. It’s stuck for over a week. To simplify, experts believe it may not go lower than this. Yet. There’s more demand than supply, plus the crypto has finally detached from volatile technology stocks. 

How do you know?Glassnode data shows that HODLers have made money. About 60% of the BTC among HODLers had a lower sale price when it last moved. There was a belief that $21,000 should be BTC’s level. Now since more HODLers have booked profits even at $20,000, the perception may have changed. 

Will this last?It seems like Bitcoin has absorbed the market shocks pretty well. Sellers aren’t in a hurry to exit which makes BTC more valuable. Can’t rule out temporary blips from the US Fed’s rate hike though.

Lightning or Storm?

That’s the question investors and industry watchers are asking about a recent transaction that brought down the Lightning Network. Much finger pointing but no definitive answers. 

What we know so farThe Lightning Network sent an emergency update to all of its LND node operators on Tuesday. The cause: a critical bug that unsynced the LND chain. This was the second time in less than a month this happened. A developer called Burak triggered the same bug last month, which caused the chain to miss producing one block. LND seems to be a work in progress, and developers are asking for a bug bounty programme.

Ok, so no disclosure. What’s the big deal?The many plot twists. Gossip says Burak was hired by Lightning Network’s competitor Blockstream. Lightning Network buys into this. 

There was a Twitter back and forth between the two companies. We’ll spare you the drama.

Off To Satoshi Island

Did you think toilet paper, walking stick for a dog, or burning expensive art NFTs were weird? Let us tell you about the newest NFTs up for sale — citizenship. 

Citizenship? To where?To Satoshi Island. It is a 32 million square foot private island, located in Vanuatu, between Australia and Fiji. The island is currently a virgin rainforest. The plan to develop Satoshi Island as a haven for crypto investors where 21,000 investors stay as citizens.  And do what? Pay no tax for one. What if a crypto investor wants to visit, there’s a resort in the works too. 

Is it recognised by other countries?No. Not yet. You would be smart to hold on to your passport for a little longer. But if you still want to buy it, the citizenship passes were minted in October and already have nearly 4,000 owners. The island land deeds have total volumes of over 950 ETH. 

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