Category: WORLD NEWS

World population reaches 8 billion, but how many are in crypto?

 

The global population figure has just reached a huge milestone, with 8 billion souls now sharing the planet. Meanwhile, crypto adoption continues to grow. 

According to Worldometer, which draws estimates from a 2022 United Nations report, the global population ticked over 8 billion on Nov. 15, doubling from a population count of 4 billion in 1974 — some 48 years ago.

Worldometer said that as of 2022, the population’s annual growth rate sits at around 0.84% but will continue to slow. This could mean it could take another 15 years for the world’s population to reach 9 billion, while the population won’t hit 10 billion until 2080.

China and India are the two most populous countries, with almost 36% of the global population between them.

However, there currently doesn’t exist a consensus around how much of the world’s population currently holds digital assets such as cryptocurrency, with estimates varying. 

Market research firm GWI suggests that as much as 10.2% already hold crypto, with most ownership skewed toward nations experiencing high inflation or fluctuation in the value of their national fiat. 

Singapore-based blockchain firm TripleA estimated that as of 2022, the global crypto ownership rate is around 4.2%, with over 320 million crypto users worldwide. It reported that the United States was top with 46 million crypto holders, followed by India, Pakistan and Nigeria.

In June, Blockware Intelligence predicts that Bitcoin adoption alone will hit 10% worldwide by 2030, as reported by Cointelegraph earlier this year.

Earlier this year, Chainalysis ranked 146 countries in five categories in its 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index. It found that Vietnam led the pack for overall adoption rates, followed by the Philippines, India, Ukraine and the United States. However, the report did not suggest actual ownership figures.

China, however, remains a difficult country to ascertain the level of crypto ownership. A large portion of people in the world’s most populous country is understood to be tech-savvy and hungry for crypto.

However, the ruling regime has other ideas at the moment. No accurate crypto ownership figures are available.

Crypto adoption will inevitably continue to grow across the planet so we’ll round off with happy birthday, global citizen number 8,000,000,000

 

Argentina tax authority breaks up crypto mining farm in major crackdown – Crypto World Headline

 

Argentina’s nationwide tax authority broke up an undeclared crypto mining farm in a so-called “mega operation” resulting in the arrest of 40 individuals, marking the most recent motion in a sequence of crypto-related crackdowns there. 

 

The tax authority, which works by AFIP in Spanish, labored with native companies to conduct 70 raids, it mentioned in an announcement. It seized greater than 100 cell telephones and SIM playing cards, money, vehicles, firearms, computer systems and various workplace gear resembling reminiscence playing cards, flash drives and printers.

 

The mining farm allegedly operated out of a shed within the municipality of Quilmes, about 12 miles southeast of the town of Buenos Aires. The farm was working with stolen cables, and authorities investigated the alleged theft of electrical energy to masks the crypto mining actions.

 

AFIP has ramped up investigations associated to digital asset operations since its director Carlos Castagneto stepped into his function in late July. 

 

The company introduced in September that it had discovered three crypto mining websites that allegedly hid their mining operations by not correctly declaring their actions.  

 

The AFIP mentioned it has specialised areas of the group that may detect undeclared crypto farms across the nation based mostly on excessive electrical energy ranges. 

 

“By means of these in-person verifications, brokers confirm the existence of the corresponding import documentation for gear and the right registration of each the mining exercise and revenue acquired,” AFIP mentioned in an announcement. 

 

Whereas the Argentine authorities’s crackdown on crypto mining appears to middle on undeclared operations and gear, current raids have raised questions on whether or not mining is authorized in any respect. To make clear, the nonprofit group ONG Bitcoin Argentina has communicated the message that crypto mining in itself just isn’t against the law when it adheres to native legal guidelines.

“Cryptocurrency mining just isn’t against the law outlined by the prison code, so it’s not an exercise that in itself might be thought of clandestine or unlawful,” ONG Bitcoin Argentina wrote in a Sept. 27 weblog submit. 

 

 

Asian markets weaken as IMF, World Bank flag recession risks

By Scott Murdoch

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Asian markets were weaker on Friday as investors braced for a U.S. rate hike next week amid growing concerns of a global recession following warnings from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.3% on Friday, after U.S. stocks ended the previous session with mild losses. The index is down 4.1% so far this month.

Australian shares were down 0.94% on Friday, while Japan's Nikkei stock index slipped 1.2%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 1.1% while China's CSI300 Index was 0.86% lower.

The weaker session followed broad declines across the major U.S equities markets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 173.27 points, or 0.56%, to 30,961.82, the S&P 500 lost 44.66 points, or 1.13%, to 3,901.35 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 167.32 points, or 1.43%, to 11,552.36.

The global economic outlook remains downbeat and some countries are expected to slip into recession in 2023, but it is too early to say if there will be a widespread global recession, the IMF said on Thursday .

The IMF in July revised down global growth to 3.2% in 2022 and 2.9% in 2023. It will release a new outlook next month.

In comparison, the World Bank said the world could be edging towards a global recession in 2023 as central banks across the world simultaneously hike interest rates to combat persistent inflation.

The world's three largest economies – the United States, China, and the euro zone – have been slowing sharply, and even a "moderate hit to the global economy over the next year could tip it into recession,", it said.

Indermit Gill, the World Bank's chief economist, said on Thursday he was concerned about "generalized stagflation," a period of low growth and high inflation, in the global economy, noting the bank had pared back forecasts for a majority of countries.

In Asian trade, the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes stood at 3.4509% compared with its U.S. close of 3.459% on Thursday.

The two-year yield, which rises with traders' expectations of higher Fed fund rates, touched 3.871% compared with a U.S. close of 3.873%.

Two-year Treasury yields hit a new 15-year high after mixed U.S retail sales and jobless claims data, which analysts said reinforced the case for aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes.

Markets are currently fully pricing in a 75 basis point rate hike next week, economists said.

"Equities and other risk-sensitive markets struggle as it becomes clear that US inflation pressures are well embedded and that risks to the fed funds rate lie to the upside," ANZ economists said on Friday.

The dollar dropped 0.4% against the yen to 142.95 .

The euro was up 0.1% on the day at $1.0006, having lost 0.51% in a month, while the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies of other major trading partners, was up at 109.59.

U.S. crude ticked up 0.14% to $85.22 a barrel. Brent crude rose to $90.98 per barrel.