From a space odyssey on the scarcity of Bitcoin to the use of XRP in Australia, here’s a look at some of the stories breaking in the world of crypto.
Bitcoin
A post on the interstellar scarcity of gold has shot to the front page of the Bitcoin subreddit.
It highlights an article from Bloomberg about an asteroid called 16 Psyche that’s made of gold and precious metals.
NASA is reportedly gearing up to visit the giant nugget in space, which is valued at $700 quintillion.
“Yes, 16 Psyche and other asteroids will probably be mined for their metals. But once those metals start hitting the market in large quantities, they’re unlikely to be precious for much longer.”
The article triggered a discussion on the true scarcity of gold compared to BTC’s maximum supply of 21 million coins.
“Waiting on asteroids Gold futures market to launch soon.” -LegendzEnt
“The $ number is only hypothetical. Once these metals become abundant, price crashes.” -Amichateur
“I wonder how much the soon to be discovered crypto asteroid will be worth once you factor in the cost of washing out the shitcoins?” -gdmfsobtc
Gold proponent Peter Schiff calls reports on the asteroid “fake news” designed to push the price of Bitcoin toward the moon.
“The existence of a golden asteroid is fake news– a lie spread to pump Bitcoin. 16 Psyche is a rare metallic asteroid with a composition similar to the earth’s core. It’s made almost entirely of an iron-nickel allow [sic], with small amounts of other metals, likely to include gold.”
Ripple and XRP
International money transfer company FlashFX is expanding its partnership with Ripple.
In a new blog post, the company says it’s launching Ripple’s XRP-powered cross-border payments product called On-Demand Liquidity in Australia.
“The expansion of payments solution to Australia through FlashFX will initially cover payments to the Philippines, with other destinations to be rolled out over time.”
FlashFX revealed it would utilize XRP for liquidity in cross-border transfers back in 2016.
Ethereum
The Ethereum Foundation just rolled out a new web portal to make it far easier for developers to get familiar with the ecosystem.
The development studio is designed to give engineers a quick way to spin up and test smart contracts, as well as build a front end for them.
You can check out the new studio here.
Cardano
Not to be outdone, Cardano just launched a site dedicated to the platform’s proof-of-stake blockchain network, codenamed Shelley.
An “incentivized testnet” for the network, which implements staking and community voting, is set to launch by the end of the year.
“The Incentivized Testnet phase of Cardano’s Shelley era will soon begin, marking the very first steps towards the network’s decentralization. This testnet is designed to test incentivization in a real-world context and allow you – the ada holder – to earn real rewards by either delegating your stake or running a stake pool.”
You can check out the new site here.
