Seeds of Wisdom RV and Economic Updates Wednesday Evening 8-21-24
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El Salvador launches Bitcoin training for 80,000 public servants
Over the years, El Salvador has stepped up efforts to integrate Bitcoin into its educational system.
El Salvador’s National Bitcoin Office (ONBTC) has launched a Bitcoin training and certification program for 80,000 public servants.
In an Aug. 20 statement, ONBTC confirmed that Bitcoin education is now a vital component of a governance initiative designed for public sector employees.
This program is part of the Higher School of Innovation in Public Administration (ESIAP), established by President Nayib Bukele in 2021 to elevate governance standards.
The program features nine training modules covering Bitcoin, Blockchain, Cybersecurity, and Artificial Intelligence, among others. Upon completion, participants will receive certification in these areas.
Stacy Herbert, Director of the Bitcoin Office, hinted at a larger announcement on the horizon, noting that this program is just the beginning. She added:
“These education projects are very low time preference commitments to the long term success of El Salvador and its bitcoin (& tech) policy.”
Meanwhile, these trainings are part of El Salvador’s broader effort to advance Bitcoin education nationwide. Since adopting Bitcoin as a legal tender in 2021, the country has introduced three other crypto-focused educational initiatives, including Cuboplus, My First Bitcoin, and Node Nation, which are now part of the public school curriculum.
El Salvador Bitcoin
This move confirms that El Salvador remains steadfast in its Bitcoin strategy despite initially drawing criticism and doubt from international observers.
Indeed, the strategy appears to be finally paying off, as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently acknowledged that its anticipated risks of El Salvador adopting Bitcoin as a legal tender have not materialized.
Further, El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings have yielded a profit of over 35%, largely due to strategic acquisitions made during market downturns. According to Nayibtracker data, the country currently holds 5,848 Bitcoin at an unrealized profit of more than $47 million.
In addition, President Bukele recently announced a $1.6 billion investment by Turkish firm Yilport Holdings to upgrade two ports in the country, one of which will host the proposed Bitcoin City.
The city, envisioned during the 2021 Bitcoin adoption, is expected to be a tax haven powered by geothermal energy for Bitcoin mining and will attract crypto enthusiasts worldwide.
@ Newshounds News™
Read more: CryptoSlate
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Crypto Payment Network for AI Agents Launched by Former Ripple Execs
The company, Skyfire, raised $8.5 million to help AI get things done, even when it involves paying for something.
AI systems can do many things: conjure images and videos, write treatises, synthesize terabytes of information, and even replicate human speech patterns and emulate emotions.
But one thing they cannot yet do, as simple as it sounds, is pay for anything.
Two former Ripple developers now seek to eliminate that barrier by fusing blockchain payments with AI to bring forth what they believe will soon emerge as a new chapter for both technologies.
Their novel service, an open-source payment system called Skyfire, will allow autonomous AI agents to zip around the internet, purchasing whatever goods they need to complete assigned missions—everything from data storage and creative assets to airfare and groceries. All such transactions will be powered by USDC, the popular stablecoin.
The company, which today announced an $8.5 million seed raise, is backed by crypto heavy hitters, including Circle—the issuer of USDC—Ripple, Gemini, and the VC firm of prominent Silicon Valley billionaire and Bitcoin advocate Tim Draper. Skyfire currently runs on Polygon, the Ethereum scaling network, but it says it plans to expand to additional blockchains soon.
@ Newshounds News™
Read more: Decrypt
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Swiss Banks Embrace Instant Payments: Could XRP Become the Go-To Crypto?
▪️Switzerland has taken a step further in embracing crypto with the recent expansion of the instant payment scheme as other banks integrate XRP into their trading platforms.
▪️According to reports, 28% of banks in Switzerland allow or are planning to allow customers to invest in crypto.
According to an announcement by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and financial infrastructure operator SIX Interbank Clearing Ltd, Switzerland has reached an advanced phase in its effort to leverage the power of instant payment schemes to go cashless.
In the SNB report reviewed by Crypto News Flash, about 60 financial institutions within the country currently can process and receive payment instantly (within 10 seconds). Interestingly, this makes up about 95% of the Swiss retail payment transactions.
The report further discloses that the first institution has launched its retail offering with several others expected to join in the coming months. With this, experts believe that the financial economy could be boosted since private individuals and companies could perform account-to-account transactions around the clock.
This offers significant advantages for individuals, companies and commercial banks. Thanks to shorter settlement chains, risks are reduced and funds received are available immediately. For companies and commercial banks, instant payments expand opportunities for automating processes and linking with other services.
Commenting on this, SNB and SIX disclosed that instant payment could be widely established in Switzerland in the medium term and could be a model for future related innovations.
The technical framework for this new type of payment was put in place with the successful go-live of the new generation of the central Swiss payment system in November 2023.
This market launch represents a further important milestone and reflects the collective stakeholder commitment to the future of cashless payments in Switzerland.
Could XRP be Considered for this Innovation
With the country expected to fully redefine its financial system with the perfect establishment of an instant payment scheme, experts believe that XRP could be integrated in the future.
Fortunately, this possibility is not far-fetched as a Swiss bank fully owned by the government, PostFinance, recently announced the addition of Solana (SOL) and Ripple (XRP) to its trading platform.
According to reports, XRP could get more integration in the future, with 28% of Swiss banks currently allowing clients or planning to enable them to invest in crypto. In addition to PostFinance, the cantonal banks of Zug, St Gallen, and Lucerne have all introduced their crypto offerings.
PostFinance’s history in the crypto industry could be traced beyond 2023, when it partnered with Sygnum Bank to regulate crypto services. The basis of the collaboration was to allow customers to buy, sell, and store cryptos like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and now XRP.
Last year, we reported that Swiss banking giant BBVA had expanded its partnership with Ripple-owned Metaco to enable a robust engagement in crypto.
Priding itself as the first tier 1 bank in the Eurozone to combine crypto custodial and trading services alongside traditional assets, BBVA is expected to lead the way for full XRP integration.
Currently, XRP is being set up to lead the new global financial era, which is marked by its recent integration with MasterCard, while Ripple is working to boost Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization worldwide.
At press time, XRP traded at $0.59 after declining by 0.12% in the last 24 hours.
@ Newshounds News™
Source: Crypto News Flash
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