10/07/2018: Biggest Stories in the Cryptosphere

1. Nigerian Entrepreneurs Are Using Bitcoin Rather Than The National Currency

A growing number of entrepreneurs operating in Nigeria are doing business using Bitcoin instead of the national currency Naira. The decision is due in part to the high volatility of the Nigerian currency. An example of how this volatility affected business is Nerve Mobile Co-Founder Silas Okwoche purchasing Android smartphones through the Chinese e-commerce Alibaba. Once the Naira lost 15% of its value against the Yen, he had to close its business. Instead, Temo managed to conduct the same type of business using Bitcoin to make purchases of hardware on Alibaba. He would use peer-to-peer marketplaces, where exchange fees are lower when compared to traditional platforms. This shouldn’t come as a surprise since we previously reported on the $3.8 million being traded weekly through 13 exchanges (as of February, 20th).

2. Blockchain Summit In Morocco — How Can Blockchain Help Save The Planet?

Yesterday, we reported on Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin attending the Blockchain Summit in Morocco. It is now revealed that one of the hot topics was how blockchain could help save the planet. Ocean Elders Founder and CEO Gigi Brisson praised how blockchain could create “a more robust, accurate and immutable supply chain”. This would then results in educated consumers who are aware of where their products come from. Her words were also echoed by Virgin Group Founder Richard Branson, who also attended the panel. There, he committed to put an end to the use of single-use plastic.

3. eToro Releases Research Paper In Collaboration With British University

Company eToro has released a research paper in collaboration with the renowned university Imperial College London. In the document, they state that cryptocurrencies could become a mainstream legal tender in the next decade. It is also discussed the possibility that these emerging technologies could do to banks what cell phones did to telephone boxes. Indeed, despite the concept of money changing over time, the main functions remained the same. Since certain cryptocurrencies are starting to meet these functions, them becoming mainstream does not seem unthinkable anymore. However, it was also noted that distributed ledger technology (DLT) could bring a lot more advantages than just providing the world with a new currency. The news comes at a similar time to the London School of Economics’ (LSE) announcement of an online course titled “Cryptocurrency Investment and Disruption”.

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Sources:

1. https://www.ccn.com/nigerian-entrepreneurs-are-choosing-bitcoin-over-the-national-currency/
2. https://hackernoon.com/20-02-2018-biggest-stories-in-the-cryptosphere-100cd402b7d8
3. https://medium.com/swlh/09-07-2018-biggest-stories-in-the-cryptosphere-ac1a78ea412e
4. https://medium.com/@BitfuryGroup/saving-the-planet-a-bit-at-a-time-reflections-from-the-2018-blockchain-summit-in-morocco-253ab8d2eb05
5. https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeldelcastillo/2018/07/10/sir-richard-branson-literally-stands-up-to-end-single-use-plastics-during-blockchain-summit/#23aa73b15b21
6. https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/research-centres-and-groups/ic3re/CRYPTOCURRENCIES--OVERCOMING-BARRIERS-TO-TRUST-AND-ADOPTION.pdf
7. https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2018/07/09/1531136722000/The-London-School-of-Cryptonomics/