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Posts archive for January, 2022
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Russian c.bank proposes banning cryptocurrencies, crypto mining
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| Representations of virtual cryptocurrencies are seen in this illustration taken November 28, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo |
Russia’s central bank on Thursday proposed banning the use and mining of cryptocurrencies on Russian territory, citing threats to financial stability, citizens’ wellbeing and its monetary policy sovereignty.
The move is the latest in a global cryptocurrency crackdown as governments from Asia to the United States worry that privately operated highly volatile digital currencies could undermine their control of financial and monetary systems.
Russia has argued for years against cryptocurrencies, saying they could be used in money laundering or to finance terrorism. It eventually gave them legal status in 2020 but banned their use as a means of payment.
In December, the price of bitcoin fell after Reuters reported, citing sources, that Russia’s regulator was in favour of a complete ban on cryptocurrencies.
In a report published on Thursday, the central bank said speculative demand primarily determined cryptocurrencies’ rapid growth and that they carried characteristics of a financial pyramid, warning that bubbles in the market could form, threatening financial stability and citizens.
The bank proposed preventing financial institutions from carrying out any operations with cryptocurrencies and said mechanisms should be developed to block transactions aimed at buying or selling cryptocurrencies for fiat, or traditional currencies. The proposed ban includes crypto exchanges.
Russians are active cryptocurrency users, the central bank said, with an annual transaction volume of about $5 billion.
CRYPTO MINING
Russia is the world’s third-largest player in bitcoin mining, behind the United States and Kazakhstan, though the latter may see a miner exodus over fears of tightening regulation following unrest earlier this month. read more
The central bank said crypto mining created problems for energy consumption. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are “mined” by powerful computers that compete against others hooked up to a global network to solve complex mathematical puzzles. The process guzzles electricity and is often powered by fossil fuels.
“The best solution is to introduce a ban on cryptocurrency mining in Russia,” the bank said.
In August, Russia accounted for 11.2% of the global “hashrate” – crypto jargon for the amount of computing power being used by computers connected to the bitcoin network.
A healthcare worker administers…
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| A healthcare worker administers the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine to a pregnant woman, amidst the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 variant Omicron, in Johannesburg, South Africa, December 9, 2021. REUTERS/ Sumaya Hisham |
Unvaccinated people infected with the Omicron variant of coronavirus may be less prone to severe illness and requiring hospital care or dying than was the case with previous variants, a South African study showed on Friday.
The study, by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) in the Western Cape region, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, concluded.compared about 11,600 patients from the first three COVID-19 waves with about 5,100 from the Omicron-driven wave that began in November.
Omicron globally has tended to cause less severe disease, and proportionally fewer hospital admissions and deaths, than previous variants.
Scientists are trying to determine the extent to which this is because of higher immunity rates engendered by vaccination or past illness, or Omicron is intrinsically less nasty.
The study concluded that about a quarter of the reduced risk of severe disease with Omicron was attributable to characteristics of the virus itself.
“In the Omicron-driven wave, severe COVID-19 outcomes were reduced mostly due to protection conferred by prior infection and/or vaccination, but intrinsically reduced virulence may account for an approximately 25% reduced risk of severe hospitalisation or death compared to Delta,” the study said.
SpaceX’s Starlink internet service has more than 145,000 users so far
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A Starlink user terminal, also known as an antenna or satellite dish, on the roof of a building.(Photo:-SpaceX)
Elon Musk’s SpaceX provided an update on its Starlink internet service on Thursday, as the company launched more satellites into orbit.
SpaceX engineer Jessie Anderson said during a webcast of the company’s first launch of the year that Starlink now has more than 145,000 users in 25 countries around the world. It fell from 140,000 users in early November, but represents a slowdown in user growth.
On Thursday, the company launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida, carrying 49 Starlink satellites into orbit.
Starlink is the company’s plan to build an interconnected Internet network with thousands of satellites – known in the space industry as a constellation.
It is designed to provide high speed Internet access to consumers all over the planet. SpaceX has approximately 1,800 Starlink satellites in orbit.
The increase of 5,000 users in two months represents slower growth. As of November, SpaceX had added about 11,000 users per month since the service began in October 2020.
Late last year, SpaceX noted on its website that the “silicon shortage has delayed production” of Starlink user terminals, “which impacted our ability to fulfill orders.
SpaceX’s valuation has reached over $100 billion, which industry analysts attribute largely to the market potential of its Starlink service.