avril 21, 2022
Blizzard Makes Selective Poll, Includes NFTs and Play-to-Earn Subjects
Blizzard, the game development studio that created franchises like Starcraft, Warcraft, and Overwatch, is polling some gamers about their opinions when it comes to NFTs and play-to-earn mechanics. According to sources on social media, the poll consulted players about issues that included other, more common topics for a gaming company, like augmented reality and cloud gaming.
However, there was a section that asked directly about the opinion and the feelings of these users on the inclusion of NFTs and cryptocurrency elements in some of the gaming IPs (intellectual property) of the company. While the survey did not directly point to the implementation of these mechanics into any game, it did raise worries in some gamers about the possibility of this being in the works.
However, the head of Blizzard, Mike Ybarra, denied the idea, declaring:
KLF
No one is doing NFTs.
avril 19, 2022
admin
WHAT happens when you hand understudies free money? That is the issue behind an examination working out in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Beginning this month, $100 worth of bitcoins are being given to understudies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Bitcoin has been proclaimed as the fate of cash, an unknown method for buying anything from an espresso to illicit medications. Be that as it may, it has battled to make the progress to normal cash. By infusing bitcoins into a genuine local area, the MIT Bitcoin Project desires to spike acknowledgment of the digital currency among individuals who could not in any case attempt it.
"We're developing an environment," says Dan Elitzer at MIT Sloan School of Management, who runs the task alongside Jeremy Rubin and Richard Ni. "We have that thickness and that minimum amount reception to ideally see what's conceivable once Bitcoin is all the more extensively acknowledged and comprehensively utilized."
To support the task, Elitzer and his group brought more than $500,000 up in graduated class gifts recently; about half came from Alexandar Morcos, a previous understudy who runs a high-recurrence exchanging firm New York City. The main payments began carrying out to understudies who had joined fourteen days prior. The understudies are allowed to do what they need with the bitcoins - inasmuch as it's legitimate.
One famous method for spending the reserve is on action item food. The Boston region brags a number shops that acknowledge bitcoin, including Patty Chen's Dumpling Room and Veggie Galaxy. It likewise had one of the first bitcoin ATMs in quite a while. What's more, the MIT grounds store presently acknowledges the money in return for things like course readings and school pullovers.
Sam Udotong, who concentrates on aviation design, plans to send off a beginning up in the following fourteen days started by the grounds' flood of bitcoins. His Fireflies application will let understudies
Understand more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22429972 sans 400 bitcoin-for-understudies how-might they-spend-it/#ixzz7Qwumktv6
- avril 18, 2022
- admin
Wall Street veteran Nelson Peltz hosted a $5,000-a-plate fundraiser for Sen. Joe Manchin at the billionaire’s sprawling Florida estate last month, where several top executives said they privately hoped the conservative Democrat would switch parties and run against President Joe Biden in the 2024 election, CNBC has learned.
Peltz, who is a co-founder of investment fund Trian Partners, hosted Manchin along with at least 50 executives for a lunch aimed at raising funds for the West Virginia lawmaker’s reelection campaign, according to someone who attended the event. They declined to be named in order to discuss the private event.
A spokeswoman for Peltz confirmed that the longtime finance executive hosted the fundraiser and reaffirmed the billionaire’s support for Manchin. Emails to Manchin’s campaign office and a call to his Capitol Hill office weren’t immediately returned. Manchin has previously said he has no plans to switch parties.
“Mr. Peltz supports Mr. Manchin. He believes Mr. Manchin is a rare elected politician from both sides of the aisle who puts country before party, something which Mr. Peltz believes is much needed in our country today,” Anne Tarbell, Peltz’s spokeswoman, said in an email to CNBC. Peltz told CNBC last year that he speaks to Manchin every week and has been personal friends with him for a decade.
1 .Salt
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Several decades ago, people were led to believe that salt was really bad for them. They were intimidated by such consequences as high blood pressure, heart and kidney problems, and so on. And while everything is good in moderation, studies conducted in the 2000s show no direct correlation between lowering your salt intake and suffering from hypertension or heart disease. On the contrary, when we stop consuming sodium, our bodies release hormones and enzymes that increase our blood pressure.
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2. Eggs
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People were told to limit their egg consumption because of cholesterol and its ability to clog arteries and increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, and diabetes.
A decade later, scientists admitted they made a mistake: there are actually 2 types of cholesterol, and eggs contain the good one. Besides, they are high in iron and protein and the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, which protect against age-related eye disorders like macular degeneration and cataracts
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3. Popcorn
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For many, many years, this loyal movie partner of ours was considered to be junk food.
However, it was discovered that popcorn has more antioxidants (called polyphenols) than fruits and vegetables. And studies show that polyphenols reduce the risk of heart disease and cancers. Another perk of popcorn: it has VERY few calories (yay!) and is a whole-grain food. But make sure it doesn't contain any artificial added flavorings. It's best to make it at home!
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4. Whole Milk
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For years, we were told to stick to the skimmed version to reduce the amount of fats we consume.
However, recent studies show that the whole fats in milk bring a lot of essential nutrients to our bodies and even make blood more resilient to certain types of cancer. In addition, whole milk actually helps you stay leaner and reduces the risk of diabetes!
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Not too long ago, caffeine was accused of all kinds of "sins": causing hypertension, heart problems, damage to the nervous system, and so on.
However, recent studies show that drinking coffee actually leads to lower rates of heart disease and early death. Coffee drinkers were also found to be less prone to diseases like liver cirrhosis, type 2 diabetes, and even neurological conditions like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
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6. White Rice
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There are a number of reasons why we shouldn't be scared of white rice. To name a few:
- It digests easily and helps absorb toxins. So if your stomach is upset, this may be a good meal for a couple of days.
- It doesn't contain gluten. For many people, that's a big deal right now.
- It helps prevent chronic digestive problems.
- White rice was proven to contain less arsenic than brown rice.
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7. Pizza
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The story here is the same as with popcorn. There's nothing bad about pizza if you make it at home! In fact, it's a great source and mixture of various nutrients. Just think about it: protein, veggies, a few carbs (use a whole-wheat crust), and your favorite fresh or dried herbs. Talk about an efficient 3-in-1!
7 Foods Falsely Accused of Being Bad for Us
Nutrition is and always has been a hot topic. People want to know which foods are good for our bodies and which can harm us. But sometimes even scientists get it wrong and have to retract or modify their statements months or even years later.
has put together a compilation of such scientific mishaps to share with you so that you have all the information to make the best possible choices! And don’t miss the bonus at the end of this article to find out whether chocolate is really such an "unwanted guest" in your body.
- Bitcoin has a notoriously high carbon footprint.
- The need to mainstream bitcoin and regulate cryptocurrency markets is likely to accelerate research into reducing the cost of storing renewable energy.
- Regulations to streamline cryptocurrency mining will ultimately lead to the use of renewable energy, bringing crypto closer to being accepted as legal tender.
Bitcoin is not only unstable, but it is a volatile topic of discussion, too.
In January, Tesla CEO Elon Musk simply added “#bitcoin” to his Twitter bio, sending the value of the cryptocurrency soaring by $5,000 within an hour. In February, Tesla announced it had bought $1.5 billion in bitcoin. “We expect to begin accepting bitcoin as a form of payment for our products in the near future,” with some caveats, said the automaker in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The announcement triggered an immediate backlash from environmentalists. Bitcoin’s carbon footprint is notoriously high. In 2020, the bitcoin network consumed a reported 131.80 TWh of power to execute the algorithms that power its “mining” operations. This is equivalent of the power consumed by Argentina.
By May, Musk had backtracked over environmental concerns, saying Tesla would no longer accept bitcoin. After hitting a high of $64,829 in April, bitcoin crashed to $30,000 in May. Aside from sending bitcoin on a rollercoaster ride, Tesla may have inadvertently turned the spotlight on the environmental footprint of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It also could have triggered the race to make cryptocurrency more environmentally friendly.
Bitcoin devours more electricity than many countries.
Image: Statista/Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance
Often labelled “dirty currency”, bitcoin, along with other cryptocurrencies, has been in a perpetual grey zone, unable to find legitimacy. Governments fear it will erode their control over currency; bankers fear it will make their industry irrelevant.
Yet, some nations are moving towards making it legal tender. Paradoxically, major banks have included bitcoin funds as part of their investment portfolios or are seriously considering it. With these developments, the pressure on cryptocurrencies to use clean energy will only increase.
To Tesla’s credit, its stated mission is “to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.” Musk said “when there’s confirmation of reasonable (~50%) clean energy usage by miners with positive future trend, Tesla will resume allowing bitcoin transactions” – an alluring carrot for cryptocurrency to make the transition.
The billion-dollar question: “Can bitcoin switch from fossil fuel to renewable energy?”
Renewable energy production is inconsistent and difficult to store. However, some nations have a clear advantage. Paraguay, for example, has an energy supply based almost 100% on hydroelectric sources. This means bitcoins mined in Paraguay, which also has the highest per capita percentage of renewal energy, will have a lower carbon footprint than bitcoin mined in nations dependent on fossil fuel. For this reason, Paraguay believes it can become the crypto hub of Latin America.
The need to mainstream bitcoin is likely to accelerate research into reducing the cost of storing renewable energy, as well. Additionally, the tentative steps being taken by governments to turn bitcoin into legal tender could potentially lead to well-considered policies for mining cryptocurrencies and penalizing breaches of environmental norms.
To counter critics of cryptocurrency, an oft-repeated argument is that the carbon footprint of fiat money is not low, either. Fiat money has a secondary impact through maintaining thousands of bank branches, employees using fossil-fuel based transport to reach these offices and more than 3.5 million ATMs worldwide soaking up power 24/7.
The fact that bitcoin is a relatively young technology is often lost in the debate. Bitcoin, like other cryptocurrencies, is evolving and will take a few years to mature. It will – especially with the push from recent developments – inch closer to being environmentally friendly. The technology will ultimately achieve a balance, leading to wider acceptance and forcing regulators to integrate it with legacy monetary systems. We could be just a few regulatory steps away from boosting the use of renewable energy for cryptocurrency.
Ground reality is also compellingly in favor of making cryptocurrency legally acceptable. It is already a cheap solution for cross-border transactions and some central banks are leading the way, allowing crypto exchanges to operate as “remittance and transfer companies”.
On the other hand, in June, China – which contributed 75% of global bitcoin mining capacity – banned the activity. One reason for the crackdown, as explained by analysts, is that China is risk averse and perhaps wants to avoid anything that comes in the way of the deployment of the digital yuan on a permissioned blockchain (meaning, the government decides who can use the digital yuan). The more likely reason is that bitcoin mining puts China behind in its goal to go carbon neutral by 2060.
Have you read?
In the aftermath, bitcoin prices tumbled by 8.5%. Other cryptocurrencies fell, as well – some like Ethereum and Dogecoin falling by as much as 11%. Why? Because cryptocurrency markets are unregulated, each guided and determined by its own rules.
These developments only magnify the need to stabilize the world of crypto. Regulations will streamline cryptocurrency mining and ultimately lead to the use of renewable energy, bringing it closer to being accepted as legal tender.
An interesting puzzle exists with respect to the accounting treatment of cryptocurrencies. The announcement in October 2020 that PayPal was launching its own cryptocurrency service suggests growing acceptability. However, there is no standard that deals with them specifically.
In November 2018, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) decided against adding a project on cryptocurrency holdings. In June 2019, the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) concluded that cryptocurrencies are not financial assets and should be accounted for under International Accounting Standard (IAS) 38, Intangible Assets, or under IAS 2, Inventories, if they are held for sale in the ordinary course of business.
Cash classification
Prior research has considered the classification of cryptocurrencies as cash and cash equivalents. IAS 7, Statement of Cash Flows, defines cash as ‘cash on hand and demand deposits’. Cash equivalents, on the other hand, are defined by IAS 7 as ‘short-term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash and which are subject to an insignificant risk of changes in value’.
Clearly, a cryptocurrency would not meet the definition of a ‘cash equivalent’ because it is not ‘subject to an insignificant risk of changes in value’. For it to be ‘cash’, it must qualify as an equivalent of a currency based on three attributes commonly agreed by economists:
- It should function as a medium of exchange.
- It should function as a unit of account.
- It should function as a store of value.
David Yermack of New York University’s Stern School of Business concludes, in his commentary in the Handbook of Digital Currency, that bitcoin should not be considered as a currency because it performs poorly on attributes two and three.
Some researchers support the cash classification. For example, in their paper in the Australian Accounting Review in 2017, Tan and Low recommend reporting bitcoin temporarily held by trading firms as cash and cash equivalent, comparing its acceptance and volatility with some legal currency.
However, most accountancy research concludes that cryptocurrency should not be considered as cash and cash equivalent because it lacks broad acceptance presently as a means of exchange and is not legal tender.
Financial assets
Some research advocates reporting bitcoin as a financial asset because it is held for investment purposes. Yermack concludes that ‘bitcoin resembles a speculative investment similar to the internet stocks of the late 1990s’, while Raiborn and Sivitanides, in their paper in the Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance in 2015, classify it as a short- or long-term investment within a US GAAP framework.
Reporting cryptocurrency as investment aligns with the tax treatment in many countries (including the US). Raiborn and Sivitanides propose investment-related journal entries for both exchange and mining transactions, and deem other asset classification inappropriate.
However, more recent research, such as the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) in its agenda paper of May 2018, suggests that cryptocurrency does not satisfy the definition of financial instrument due to the lack of contractual right for the holder. Cryptocurrency lacks the characteristic of issued equity or debt of another entity, as noted by Smith and Castonguay in their paper in Strategic Finance in November 2019.
A framework is needed to classify cryptocurrencies by underlying attributes and to require the appropriate accounting treatment for each classification
Inventory
Some research supports reporting cryptocurrency as inventory for certain types of entities, such as bitcoin exchange (Tan and Low) and companies that mine or resell (Smith and Castonguay). However, the AASB argues that inventory is not an appropriate classification for such businesses because the lower of cost and net realisable value measurement in IFRS Standards reports only decreases in value and does not provide relevant information about cryptocurrency movements.
One exception is commodity broker-traders, who can report cryptocurrency as inventory measured at fair value less costs to sell through profit or loss, and thus provide relevant information, as noted by the AASB.
Intangible asset
Most researchers agree that cryptocurrency meets the definition of an intangible asset, although Tan and Low argue that bitcoin does not lead to future economic benefits other than being a medium of exchange or investment.
However, there is disagreement on the usefulness of this classification. On the one hand, Smith and Castonguay support applying existing intangible asset standards because they consider the fair value through profit or loss (FVTPL) model inconsistent with conservatism – a view consistent with opinions of the majority of Big Four audit firms in the US.
On the other hand, Smith, Petkov and Lahijani in their 2019 paper in the International Journal of Digital Accounting Research suggest that the different accounting treatments for externally acquired versus internally generated intangible assets present earnings management opportunities and increase concerns for audit risk. Furthermore, the AASB determines that neither the cost model nor the revaluation model in IAS 38 provides relevant information on cryptocurrencies.
The AASB concludes that cryptocurrency should be measured using the FVTPL model and recommend that the IASB develop a new standard for investments in intangible assets and commodities to address the gap left by the superseded IAS 25, Accounting for Investments.
Lack of consensus
Clearly, there is a lack of a consensus on the accounting classification and measurement of cryptocurrencies.
In its 2019 agenda paper, IFRIC posits that cryptocurrencies that are not held for sale in the ordinary course of business meet the definition of an intangible asset. IAS 38 defines an intangible asset as ‘an identifiable non-monetary asset without physical substance’.
We have two concerns about this. First, there is a wide range of cryptocurrencies with different uses, varying from transferring value (eg bitcoin) to providing programmable blockchain (eg ethereum). Subjecting them to the same measurement basis does not reflect their different functionalities. Second, the measurement basis of cost or revaluation of IAS 38 may not provide useful information on cryptocurrencies generally.
Broaden IFRS 9
An alternative approach is to broaden the existing standard IFRS 9, Financial Instruments, to include cryptocurrencies. Presently, IFRS 9 defines financial instruments categorically rather than conceptually.
Many cryptocurrencies have grown to be digital alternatives to fiat currency and investments, and are closer in nature to financial instruments than intangible assets such as patents or research and development. The accounting measurement of fair valuation in IFRS 9 is also better positioned to provide more relevant information than the cost or revaluation model of IAS 38.
We believe that the better option is to scope out cryptocurrencies from IAS 38. A framework is needed to classify cryptocurrencies by underlying attributes and to require the appropriate accounting treatment for each classification. We strongly believe that information on fair value through profit or loss remains a key consideration for cryptocurrencies.
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