The Fiat Crypto – DailyChatter

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August 18, 2021

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NEED TO KNOW EL SALVADOR The Fiat Crypto

Bitcoin has fascinated and frightened investors who love to see its value rise (a bitcoin is worth over $ 45,000 now) as well as skeptics who remind cryptocurrency advocates that their beloved virtual money is exceptionally risky because it is lacking. state support.

Now, however, El Salvador is embracing bitcoin as legal tender, Reuters reported. President Nayib Bukele, elected in 2019 after his campaign used social media to connect with voters, hopes the September 7 decision will improve the country’s economy. Since 2001, the US dollar has been used as legal tender in this Central American country. It won’t change. El Salvador does not have a national currency.

“It will bring financial inclusion, investment, tourism, innovation and economic development for our country,” Bukele tweeted.

Cryptocurrency enthusiasts applauded the idea.

Strike payments platform founder Jack Mallers told CNBC that bitcoin could serve as a reserve asset for developing economies looking to cope with exchange rate fluctuations and avoid associated inflationary shocks. fiat or government-backed currency.

The enthusiasm of the Mallers is not necessarily out of place. Bank of America released a report saying that bitcoin could significantly help the remittances that Salvadorans living in the United States send home. According to BeInCrypto via Yahoo! Finance.

Bitcoin eliminates middlemen in financial systems, an NBC News video explained. It could fuel innovation. Bukele also pioneered the idea of ​​building virtual bitcoin mining facilities, or servers, that would produce more currency. The country’s volcanoes would sustainably supply the facilities, he argued.

The International Monetary Fund has, however, been more cautious. The US-based lender believes cryptocurrencies could harm macroeconomic stability and financial integrity due to their links to criminals, the Financial Times reported. Countries around the world, including the United States and those in the EU, are currently considering stricter currency regulations to stop ransomware criminals and eradicate money laundering.

Meanwhile, the IMF is also negotiating a billion dollar loan with El Salvador, suggesting that Bukele may need to temper his enthusiasm for bitcoin.

Bitcoin is an example of a bold idea that is part of Bukeles’ 40-year campaign to present itself as a regional leader demonstrating how poor and violence-prone countries in Central America could innovate on the path to peace. and prosperity, added El Pais. .

Bitcoin or not, Bukele has undermined his reform image by aggressively pursuing public officials allegedly critical of previous administrations, the Associated Press wrote. And critics accused him of grabbing institutions and avoiding corruption investigations in his own administration.

Either way, Bukele has plenty of domestic reforms to pursue to improve the lives of his people. Putting more money in their digital wallet or whatever could be a good start.

WANT TO KNOW AFGHANISTAN Promises, Promises

Evacuations and uncertainty continued in Afghanistan two days after the Taliban took control of the country, who sought to reassure Afghans and the world that they would respect women’s rights and grant amnesty to those who oppose their regime, the Associated Press reported.

On Tuesday, evacuations of diplomatic personnel and Afghans who have worked with the United States and other countries resumed at Kabul International Airport under the protection of American troops after being suspended on Monday. The Taliban did not interfere in these operations, the PA said.

The Taliban’s advances and their victory over the democratically elected government have prompted hundreds of Afghans to try to flee the country. More than 600 Afghans crowded into a cargo plane bound for Qatar on Sunday, some jumping onto the plane’s open ramp. The AP reported “shocking” scenes of people hanging onto a plane as it took off. About seven people died in the chaos.

The Taliban have sought to allay fears by promising to respect women’s rights but only under Islamic law and to refrain from attacking individuals who have cooperated with the government and foreign troops in the country, according to Longtime Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, who made his first public appearance on Tuesday to address these concerns at a press conference.

He also pledged that the Taliban would not allow Afghanistan to be used as a base to attack other countries. It was a condition of a 2020 peace deal between the Taliban and the Trump administration that led to the US withdrawal.

Meanwhile, talks continued on Tuesday between the Taliban and Afghan politicians, including former President Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, who once headed the country’s negotiating council. The Taliban have said they want to form an inclusive Islamic government.

The group’s takeover sparked shock and apprehension around the world. Even so, as Western countries have expressed disappointment at the fall of the government, regional powers Russia, China and Pakistan have expressed willingness to cooperate with the Taliban, according to the Guardian.

Analysts said Pakistan hopes to exert more influence and leverage over Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, giving it a strong regional ally aligned with its Islamic values ​​in its bitter rivalry with India. Yet Pakistan has said it will only recognize a Taliban regime as part of a regional decision made in consultation with regional and international powers, CNN noted.

Russia has said it is ready to engage if the Taliban guarantees the safety of its diplomats and prevents militants from launching assaults on other Central Asian allies such as Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, both being post-Soviet states and allies of Russia.

China, meanwhile, called the US exit irresponsible but said it was ready to develop good neighborly, friendship and cooperation with Afghanistan, but remains cautious about getting involved in a volatile political situation, analysts told The Wall Street Journal.

HAITITI Agony

Haitians continued to try to provide emergency aid to victims of a devastating earthquake as they prepared for Tropical Storm Grace, a situation aid officials called ” agony, “the Financial Times reported.

Officials said they expected the storm to bring heavy rains and strong winds to the southwestern region of Haiti, which was hit hardest by Saturday’s quake. They added that rainfall could reach 15 inches in some areas, hampering rescue efforts and increasing the threat of mudslides and flash floods, Sky News reported.

Graces’ arrival comes just days after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake rocked the poor Caribbean nation, killing at least 1,900 people and injuring more than 6,900, according to PBS Newshour. Most of the deaths occurred in the three provinces around the town of Petit-Trou-de-Nippes, the epicenter of the earthquake.

Aid workers and relief officials said the earthquake damage made it difficult to get aid supplies to where they are needed.

Meanwhile, Haiti continues to face a political crisis following the assassination of President Jovenel Mose last month. The country is also seeing an increase in gang violence, which threatens the delivery of aid, according to USA Today.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry, in office for less than a month, has declared a state of emergency. On Monday, he pledged to speed up aid efforts following criticism of a slow deployment.

Meanwhile, the country’s presidential elections, originally scheduled for next month, have been postponed until November.

MALAYSIA Next

Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin resigned this week amid criticism over his government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, plunging the country into political uncertainty, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Prime Minister will remain in a guardian role until the King has found a replacement. He apologized for the government’s failure to contain the Delta variant infections.

Muhyiddin came to power last year after the collapse of the ruling coalition led by then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. He formed a government after securing a narrow majority in parliament, which included support from the conservative opposition UMNO party.

However, the coalition was unstable from the start and has been weakened by defections in recent weeks, with former supporters citing handling of the pandemic as one of the main reasons for their departure.

It is now up to King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah to decide who will be the next ruler of the country. On Tuesday, he called on lawmakers to choose the next prime minister by Wednesday, Channel News Asia reported.

For more than a month, the number of infections has increased in Malaysia due to the Delta variant: the country has reported more than 15,000 cases per day and around 200 deaths per day.

The country has stepped up its vaccination program and about a third of the population is fully vaccinated, one of the highest rates in Southeast Asia.

DISCOVERIES High Society

For years, scientists thought giraffes were not socially competent. They were wrong.

A new study has found that animals actually have complex social structures, Gizmodo reported.

In an article, researchers Zoe Mueller and Stephen Harris reviewed more than 400 studies of giraffe behavior to better understand the social system of Artiodactyls. The team found that the social structure of giraffes was similar to that of whales, elephants and chimpanzees.

They explained that some of these animals have a matriarchal social hierarchy, which means that the oldest female leads the group.

Mueller and Harris said giraffes spend almost a third of their lives in a post-reproductive state. This means that older women will stay longer in the education of new generations and continue to ensure the longevity of their social group.

It is certainly an overwhelming task: herds can reach 50 giraffes.

The authors said the recent findings are a good thing for the giraffe’s state of conservation.

If we view giraffes as a very socially complex species, it also elevates their status to a more complex and intelligent mammal that increasingly deserves protection, Muller said.

Global COVID-19 Update

Total number of cases worldwide: 208,609,830

Total deaths worldwide: 4,382,461

Total vaccinations in the world: 4,757,052,259

Countries with the highest number of confirmed cases in the world at 4 a.m. ET *

United States: 37,017,859 (+ 0.35%) India: 32,285,857 (+ 0.11%) Brazil: 20,416,183 (+ 0.18%) France: 6,581,417 (+ 1.58%) Russia: 6,551,934 (+ 0.31%) United Kingdom: 6,352,224 (+ 0.42%) Turkey: 6,118,478 (+ 0.36%) Argentina: 5,096,443 (+ 0.16%) Colombia: 4,874,169 (+ 0.07%) Spain: 4,733,602 (+ 0.30%)

Source: Johns Hopkins University

* Numbers change over 24 hours

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