Ethereum Upgrade, Buying Bitcoin at Walmart, and Sneaker Addictions

We had a good weekend, and I hope you did well. We saw a new high, with a little bit of a drop across the market – but not much.

When we see new interest in these coins we see new miners getting involved.

In some ways that can be a good thing. The more people interested, the more exposure, and the higher prices will come.

But one of the biggest criticisms we see right now is in power consumption, and with these all-time price highs, we are close to seeing all-time energy highs.

After the crackdown in China, we saw a huge drop in Bitcoin hash rates, which is the processing speed used to make mine new coins. We’re currently only 22% away from being back to the all-time hash rate high.

That tells us the crackdown’s effects really didn’t last long and we are almost back to where we were on a mining level – but that also means we need to find a solution for the energy usage that is adding to climate change as well as significant power outages around the world.

Something we’ve talked about in previous episodes.

There is a little bit of good news along the way, however. Ethereum is expected to update later this week to its Altair Upgrade – which is an important step to Ethereum 2 expected next year.

This would be a significant shift, as it would finally mean Ethereum is going to move from proof of work to proof of stake. So anyone with Ethereum can stake their current assets to make more Ethereum.

This will not only mean much less energy consumption on the network but also a lot less demand for graphics cards that have led to a worldwide shortage with some manufacturers putting hash rate limiters on them.

In other good news that will help with more price increases, you can now buy and exchange Bitcoin at some WalMarts.

The change sorting company Coinstar has teamed up with the retail giant to put Bitcoin ATMs at 200 locations. This is part of a pilot program, and hopefully one we will see stick around.

There is a downside, though, with Bitcoin purchases having a transaction fee of 4% and a cash exchange fee of 7%.

As we see people educating themselves about the technology behind crypto, something I’ll probably dive into more in future episodes, we are seeing more people investing in it.

In fact, Hedge fund investor Anthony Scaramucci recently said on CNBC, “Anybody that does the homework … ends up investing into it. Look at Ray Dalio, a bitcoin skeptic, now a bitcoin investor,” he also mentioned that other big-name investors such as Paul Tudor Jones and Stanley Druckenmiller have also bought bitcoin.

“These are brilliant guys [who] did the homework and drew a conclusion that they needed to own a piece of bitcoin,” he said.

Another person who did their homework and invested was the Facebook Whistleblower, Frances Haugen.

She’s come out to the New York Times saying she isn’t worried about future work because she invested in Crypto Early. Although she didn’t say what crypto she owns, she said she’s financially ok for the foreseeable future.

She also said she’s moved to Puerto Rico for health issues and to be with Crypto friends – which I imagine will also help her crypto go even further.

Well, it’s time to shift our focus to the world of NFTs.

NFTs are getting yet another new platform – only this one isn’t for artwork but toys. OnChain Studios has raised $7.5 million in a seed round to develop Crypto Toys.

Cryptoys are interactive digital toys that consumers can buy, play with, collect and sell. They respond to you in a variety of ways, grow smarter, and can acquire more skills the longer you interact with them.

Cryptotoys will launch on the Flow blockchain, which was designed for NFT collectibles and crypto games.

Are you the type of person that enjoys collecting sneakers? It’s a bit thing for some people, and now you’ll be able to combine that addiction with the world of NFTs.

The sneaker brand Flowers for Society will link each product sold to a unique NFT. They were quoted saying, “by purchasing the first sneaker, you will gain access to our metaverse community. The corresponding NFT is a certificate of authenticity and membership, which will be the key to participating in future sneaker releases, limited editions, and collaborations.”

The brand’s first sneaker NFT, called SEED.ONE features a hyper-futuristic design and is expected to release on November 6th.

The Renaissance Awards, which is the first global award dedicated to the work of international young leaders who are working for a more environmentally regenerative, socially just, economically inclusive, and technologically balanced future is going to be offering NFT prizes.

Each NFT will be minted on the Cardano blockchain, which is dedicated to creating an ethical and environmentally secure blockchain.

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