fiat

Jun 24 2021

50,000 electric vehicle charging stations in Europe to offer crypto payments

Two payments firms have partnered to roll out crypto payments across 50,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Europe.

The partnership is between Irish e-commerce and mobile payment solutions firm HIPS Payment Group Ltd and Vourity, a Swedish firm that specializes in unattended payment facilities such as EV charging stations.

The integration of crypto payments with charging stations will occur over the next three years starting from November 2021.

The firms haven’t revealed which cryptocurrencies will be supported yet, but Vourity has dropped a pretty strong hint that Ethereum is likely to be among the first after it released an image of a payment terminal with an ETH logo on it. Ethereum is moving to the much more energy efficient Proof-of Stake consensus mechanism in the next year, which could mitigate any backlash among environmentally conscious EV drivers.

“We are currently evaluating what cryptos/coins we will support. It will be converted to fiat,” stated Hans Nottehed, the CEO of Vourity.

Vourity payment terminal, with an ETH logo

Crypto payments will be integrated with Vourity’s EV charging stations by connecting to the blockchain via Hips Merchant Protocol’s native protocol token Merchant Token.

Back in May, HIPS Payment Group launched the HIPS Merchant Protocol, the HIPS Merchant Protocol Gateway, and its governing Merchant Token.

The protocol was built on Ethereum and Solana in May 2021 and plans to expand support to Cardano in the future.

“With near real-time transaction speeds, in addition, the Hips Merchant Blockchain is designed for merchant transactions regardless if they are mobile, instore or e-commerce and utilizes the interchange concept from the payment card industry,” HIPS noted in May.

EV crypto innovation

Tesla famously did a U-turn on accepting Bitcoin (BTC) payments for vehicles, with Elon Musk noting the firm won’t change course until the mining sector is at least 50% powered by clean energy. Other EV-focused firms have sought ways to innovate using “clean” crypto mining and adoption.

At the beginning of this month, Canadian light EV manufacturer Daymak announced an upcoming EV set for 2023, that is fitted with a crypto mining rig that can mine Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies while it’s charging or parked.

In March, Stellantis, the parent company of European car manufacturer Fiat, partnered with Kiri Technologies, to promote an “eco-driving style,” by rewarding Fiat EV drivers in cryptocurrency via Kiri Technologies’ KiriCoin.

In that same month, Volkswagen Group Innovation, the research department of German car Volkswagen, announced a partnership with Energy Web, a non-profit organization focused on open source energy transition.

The duo teamed up to research methods of using EV’s and charging stations as part of the power grid using blockchain.

Jesse Morris, the chief commercial officer of Energy Web, spoke with Cointelegraph and emphasized the benefits of tracking the integration between EVs, charging stations, and power grids using blockchain.

Morris mentioned that during times of local grid congestion, Volkswagen drivers could be incentivized not to charge by being paid out in crypto or fiat. Additionally, utility providers could pay EV drivers to store energy during times of excess generation on the power grid.

50,000 electric vehicle charging stations in Europe to offer crypto payments

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Jun 21 2021

Portugal Grants First Crypto Exchanges Operating Licenses

For the first time ever, Banco de Portugal has approved operating licenses to regional cryptocurrency trades.

Recently, the central bank gave out the statement that Portuguese-based trades “Mind the coin” and “Criptologia” are now enlisted as virtual assets service providers.

The central bank has issued only these two names in the list on their official website. Banco De Portugal took around nine months to finalize the decision. In September 2020, Criptojola was reported to perform its initial registration to give out its services as a virtual assets provider.

Mind the Coin and Criptoloja have been given permission to perform crypto exchange services between fiat currencies and different virtual assets within the Portuguese region. Furthermore, they are also allowed to cover various transfer services, safeguarding, and administration works for such assets.

Banco De Portugal has been awarded as one of the most crypto-friendly nations in entire Europe, and the whole continent seems to be proud of it.

In May 2021, Jean Galea, a well-known investor, and blogger said that Portugal is becoming a haven for all the individuals involved in the crypto world in one of his write-ups. Cryptocurrency income continues to be immune from capital gains taxes and VAT in Portugal unless the income is associated with professional trading activity.

Which other European countries are involved in Crypto exchanges?

Nonetheless, Portugal isn’t the only European country to accept crypto trading and services with a warm welcome.

In the final week of May 2021, The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) granted “XCoins,” a country-based leading exchange provider, the license to class 3 VFA (Virtual Financial Asset).

The founder and CEO of XCoins, Rob Frye, stated that Xcoins is dominating the space of digital assets worldwide by standing as one of the earliest cryptocurrency platforms to reach this benchmark implies that they are completely capable of paving the path for an additionally secured and organized industry.

This is another such authorization the Malta Financial Services Authority has consented to a crypto trade this year. The firstest crypto platform to obtain a VFA authorization of a similar degree was “Crypto.com.” By earning the milestone of receiving the license a couple of weeks before XCoins, the company called this achievement a historic moment for the cryptocurrency world.

Moreover, Crypto.com had previously made a plea to the MFSA to serve as a licensed financial institution, but the plea didn’t get approved. Again this year, the company has presented its plea to the Maltese authority; however, the regulator’s verdict is still not finalized.

European countries like MFSA and Portugal are surpassing the crypto exchange milestone!

Conclusion

Further, Criptoloja is currently seeking to bring Portuguese folk together who are interested in investing in crypto assets. However, the service provider company is not confident enough to start accounts in out-of-country trades. Nevertheless, investors say that the tremendous adoption of cryptocurrencies in Portugal is forming a new era of traders.

To get instant updates about Blockchain Technology and to learn more about online Blockchain Certifications, check out Blockchain Council.

Portugal Grants First Crypto Exchanges Operating Licenses

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Jun 10 2021

Cryptocurrency Wallet Development Realizes the Future of Payments

The advancement in technology is undeniable. And everything nowadays is available at our fingertips. In recent years, the number of users investing in digital currencies is rising. Thus, Ethereum and Bitcoin always stay at the peak.

Cryptocurrencies can be stored in various wallet options. This article is going to cover everything you need to know about crypto wallet development.

What is Cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrencies refer to a type of virtual currency that is secured by cryptography.

Almost every cryptocurrency is created on distributed ledgers and makes use of decentralized networks that are further integrated with blockchain wallet development technology.

How do cryptocurrency wallets function?

The crypto transactions are stored in a blockchain network by the wallet that cannot be altered.
When a user sends cryptocurrencies to another user, he is transferring the ownership of the coin to the receiver.
It consists of both private and public keys that are associated with the currencies.
Only if the private key matches the public key, the users are allowed to make a transfer of their digital coins.
The private key is used for validating the transaction, whereas the public key is utilized to receive the funds.

Types of cryptocurrency wallets:

The types of cryptocurrency wallets are described below:

Desktop wallets:

One can easily download desktop wallets on a PC or laptop. Most of them are secure, and the security will not be compromised until there is a cyberattack.

Virtual wallets:

Based on the cloud, virtual wallets are accessible from any location. With the implementation of blockchain technology, it is safer and convenient but is still vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Mobile wallets:

Through a mobile app, mobile cryptocurrency wallets can be used. Several retail stores accept payments through this type of wallet.

Hardware wallets:

These wallets do not store any private keys of the users online. Instead, the keys are stored on a hardware drive.

Paper wallets:

This type of wallet is considered to be the most secure one. It generates printable private and public keys. It can handle easy fund transfer, and it has a QR code facility for user convenience.

Current Cryptocurrency trends in the market:

The first cryptocurrency was bitcoin. And the ones that are developed after bitcoin are often called Altcoins, which serve as the best alternative to fiat currency.

The fluctuation of monetary value, investment growth in the capital, cross-border remittance, and transparency have drastically influenced the market growth.

The leading wallets in 2021:

According to popular providers of wallet development services, Cryptocurrency wallets can be divided into two major categories, namely,

Hardware wallet:

The hardware wallets for cryptocurrency are:

Ledger Nano S: It is a super-secure hardware wallet for cryptocurrency. It has its OS called BOLOS and features 2-feature authentication.

Trezor One: Modern cryptography is integrated with Trezor One. It also uses 2-factor authentication for transaction authentication.

2. Software wallet:

The software wallets for cryptocurrencies are:

Coinbase: It is efficient in creating open financial infrastructure. It has over 35 million users currently.

Gemini: It is accessible via both PC and mobile. Gemini can track real-time cryptocurrency prices. The users can set price alerts to get immediately notified during price fluctuations.

Steps for development of cryptocurrency wallet:

Follow the below processes for cryptocurrency wallet development:

3. Define your cryptocurrency app type:

As there are already existing concepts, you do not need to reinvent. Just learn from your competitors, speed up your development process, and define the crowdfunding app concept.

4. Evaluate the existing market scenario:

It is not time for you to analyze the market. Perform a SWOT analysis for your cryptocurrency wallet development to overpower your competition.

5. Design UI/UX:

Identify user flow and create user-friendly information architecture. And focus on making a high-quality UI.

6. Develop technical architecture and backend:

Aspects like database, UI, service tools, and workflow needs to be considered. After the technical architecture is ready, opt for backend development. Create internally and bind external APIs to build a robust backend.

7. Frontend development:

Work on making a responsive design, and make sure that the user experience is top-notch. The most crucial thing about creating a frontend is that it needs to be reliable.

8. Testing:

Finally, test the app, and compare it with the original requirement document. If any errors or bugs are found, it is fixed by the development team. And the QA team verifies it, and then only it is released.

The necessary features for cryptocurrency wallets:

The must-have features are:

User account management
QR-code scanning
Trading and exchange cryptos
Efficient security
Currency management
Push notifications
Seamless onboarding

Conclusion:

The dramatic rise of Bitcoin influenced the global monetary system. And this market will continue to grow and will be the future of digital payments.

If you are unfamiliar with cryptos, you must not commence with the app development hectically. And you must take help from a professional cryptocurrency wallet development company to develop highly secured wallets.

Cryptocurrency Wallet Development Realizes the Future of Payments

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Jun 07 2021

El Salvador set to make history by becoming the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender

El Salvador, a country in Central America, is planning to introduce a ruling with an intent to emerge as the world’s very first sovereign government to approve bitcoin as legal tender, along side the U.S. dollar.

The multi-day conference that took place in Minami in 2021 regarding bitcoin is recognized as the remarkable bitcoin event in history. El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele declared an open coalition with digital wallet company “Strike” to look forward to the modern financial infrastructure of the country using bitcoin technology. He said, within the next week, a bill will be sent to Congress to accept bitcoin as a legal tender.

The founder of the fast-growing network payments platform Strike, Jack Mallers, said this move would go down as the revolutionary step for the world of bitcoin.

He continued, The transformative thing about this is that bitcoin can be assumed as the biggest reserve asset ever formulated as well as it is also an outstanding monetary network. Keeping bitcoin furnishes a means to safeguard expanding economies from probable concussions due to inflation of fiat currency. Communicating from the main stage, he added the scheme would help in unleashing the proficiency and capability of bitcoin for use cases relevant to everyday life with an open network that will benefit people, industries, and civil sector services.

How it will benefit El Salvador?

El Salvador is primarily a cash economy, where generally 70% of individuals don’t possess credit cards or bank accounts. Settlements, or the cash sent home by migrants, represent over 20% of El Salvador’s GDP. Official services can charge 10% or more expenses for dealing with worldwide exchanges, which can sometimes require days to show up and occasionally require a physical fatch.

A resource doesn’t sponsor Bitcoin, nor does it have the complete confidence and support of any one government. Its worth is determined, partially, from the knowledge that it is digitally scant; there will just be the presence of only 21 million bitcoin.

While factors are as yet approaching about how the rollout will function, the news outlets are informed that El Salvador has amassed a group of bitcoin pioneers to help fabricate another economic environment with bitcoin as the ground layer.

The CEO of Blockstream, Adam Back, stated that this move was under uncertainty, but it still took place to make El Salvador the first nation to adopt bitcoin as a legal tender. He added, he is planning to Provide technologies like satellite and liquid infrastructure to make this country a successful example for the world.

Conclusion

President Bukele’s party has considerable authority over the legislative assembly of the country, so we can reasonably assume that this bill will get passed. Also, This move isn’t new to El Salvador as in March, Strike introduced its mobile payments app, and it shortly came to be the most downloaded app in the nation.

Learn more about cryptocurrency and take up a suitable cryptocurrency course at Blockchain Council.

El Salvador set to make history by becoming the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender

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Jun 03 2021

Cardano Price Hits $1.88 As Recovery Quickens – Where to Buy ADA

Cardano price is going from strength to strength as it reclaims $1.80 with the next stop looking like the psychologically all-important $2.0 mark.

Cardano has suffered the least of the major altcoins in the wake of the May correction pain. The price nudged $1.88 today but has since given up some of those gains as the US session kicked into gear – maybe some crypto buyers prefer the excitement in meme stocks at this point?

Although a way off the $2.47 all-time high it recorded on 16 May, Cardano is looking in very good shape. But as far as that high goes, we should recall that it was somewhat fleeting – it was printed the day before the crash began, and so there was little time to establish selling interest at those levels, and that could translate into weaker resistance ahead.

Cardano price: Weak resistance ahead

The lack of resistance between the current price and the next challenges at $2.0 and $2.3 should encourage bulls to look for even more upside, so reclaiming the all-time high in short order may not be such a stretch.

Cardano (ADA) breakthrough on interoperability

And standing behind the attractive technicals is the continued progress on the network fundamentals side.

Yesterday Cardano announced its first interoperability success, in a tie-up with the Nervos (CKB) blockchain. Describing it as a “bluetooth moment”, the two public blockchains plan to switch on the bridge in a few weeks.

Cardano’s route to fulfilling its vision of a scalable, secure proof of stake decentralised application platform has been somewhat tortuous for its followers over the past three years and more. But the milestones continue to be achieved as full smart contract functionality inches closer and adoption wins in Africa at the governmental level – with Ethiopia’s eduction system one of the most important adoptees.

Describing Cardano as an ‘Ethereum killer’ is probably not very useful because it suggests that the blockchain world is a zero sum game in which one chain’s win is another’s loss. There will likely be plenty of room for many chains – the key will be interoperability between them.

ADA pluses – peer reviewed and the Hoskinson effect

Also, as the only academically peer-reviewed crypto project, investors can be surer than with any other project that the code ‘just works’.

The man behind Cardano is co-inventor of Ethereum Charles Hoskinson. His evangelism for the project is one of Cardano’s strengths, as those who watch his regular appearances on various YouTube channels and other media outlets can attest.

And with a ranking of number 5 on coinmarketcap, it now has the brand identity as well as the funds to lock in the development resource and the investors to be up and running next year.

The fact that it is priced at $1-plus in addition makes it an attractive lowly starting price that appeals to trader psychology – people prefer to be able to buy a whole unit of a lower price than a fraction of a unit at a higher price.

We rate Cardano’s ADA token a strong buy.

Where to buy Cardano (ADA)

Buy ADA on eToro

You can buy Cardano’s ADA native token on investment platform eToro. eToro currently lists 23 crypto assets that can all be traded in fiat pairs and as crosses with other crypto. There are no trading fees to pay. Instead, investors pay the spread between the buy and sell (bid and ask) price.

eToro has grown in popularity with traders around the world because of its ease of use and unique features such as its Copy Trading functionality, where platform users can elect to copy the trades of successful fellow traders. In addition to crypto, eToro offers markets in stocks, commodities, forex and ETFs, so you could buy stocks with exposure to crypto such as Coinbase

Huobi Global

Huobi Global has a broad range of crypto asset listing, at the last count listing 310 coins, including all five coins selected here. It also lists 27 fiat Trading fees on the exchange 0.2%

Huobi is popular with Chinese investors who use it as their preferred offshore destination for trading crypto. Unlike eToro, deposits are limited to cryptocurrency only.

Onboarding at Huobi is straightforward with no anti-money laundering or know your customer process required before trading, although this may put off some users as it is an indication the exchange is lightly regulated.

Looking to buy or trade Cardano (ADA) now? Invest at eToro!

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Cardano Price Hits $1.88 As Recovery Quickens – Where to Buy ADA

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