Bitcoin price could reach $45,000 due to rising gold price, says JPMorgan

The current gold price of nearly $2,000 per ounce would imply a bitcoin price of $45,000, according to JPMorgan analysts, as the two assets tend to move in tandem and are seen as alternatives by investors.
 
"With the gold price rising above $2,000, the value of gold held for investment purposes outside central banks is currently valued at around [$3 trillion]. In turn, this implies a $45,000 price for bitcoin under the assumption that bitcoin equalizes gold in private investors' portfolios in risk capital or [volume]-adjusted terms," JPMorgan strategists led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote in a note on Wednesday.

The upcoming Bitcoin halving in April or May 2024 would mechanically double Bitcoin's production cost to around $40,000, according to JPMorgan. "This is because bitcoin's production cost has historically acted as an effective lower bound," JPMorgan strategists said. "Indeed, the previous halving events of 2016 and 2020 were accompanied by a bullish trajectory for bitcoin prices that had accelerated post the halving event."

@worldcoin
 
After 3 years of R&D and extensive real-world usage (onboarding +1M unique humans), we're excited to finally open up the hardware powering the Orb!
 
Along with the engineering files, we're also sharing an in-depth explanation on how the Orb works.
 
Worldcoin started as a way to explore the concept of how widely-distributed digital currency could impact the world.
 
Along the way, we discovered sybil-resistance was the biggest issue in our way, with no existing solution being private, inclusive and scalable.
 
We needed a solution that could differentiate between billions of humans, that didn't exclude humans without IDs or other forms of identification (usually those who need change the most), and that didn't require us to store any private data.
 
So we built the Orb
 

 
Here's how the system works:
 
1. The Orb conducts a series of checks to make sure you're not trying to trick it.
 
2. The Orb captures pictures of your iris.
 
3. The Orb uses machine learning to convert the images into an IrisCode, which represents the randomness in your iris.
 
Thanks to IrisCodes, we can detect if someone tries to sign up more than once without having to store any private data.
 
4. The Orb signs the IrisCode and adds to the list of "unique humans" along with a World ID public key, generated by the user's phone.
 
The system is designed to be fully private:
 
- Unless users explicitly and clearly consent to data custody, images never leave the orb and are deleted as soon as the IrisCode generation finishes.
 
- There's no link between IrisCode and the wallet belonging to the user[/img]
 
https://twitter.com/worldcoin/statu [...] 4358452224

Beijing has released a web3 white paper to promote the industry’s development.
The timing of the release is interesting, according to the CEO of Binance, who noted Hong Kong’s crypto rules come into effect next week.

Dubbed the "Web3 Innovation and Development White Paper (2023)," the document states that web3 technology is an "inevitable trend for future Internet industry development," according to a report from local news outlet The Paper.

The white paper reportedly states that Beijing aims to strengthen policy support and accelerate technological breakthroughs to promote the web3 industry.

Hong Kong Police Force launch new metaverse platform, ‘CyberDefender’
The platform was launched to promote crime prevention in the metaverse, with the police warning that “all crimes in the cyberspace could also happen in the metaverse.“

Huobi HK is now offering crypto spot trading to retail and institutional clients in Hong Kong, having now applied for a virtual asset exchange license.
 
The exchange submitted an application notice to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission on May 29, according to a statement on Twitter. Crypto firms need to apply for the license before they are able to start offering regulated services.

China: Zhengzhou City proposes metaverse plan

The municipal government of Zhengzhou — the capital of China’s Henan Province — issued a set of policy proposals Wednesday aimed at supporting metaverse companies operating within its jurisdiction, with plans to establish a 10 billion yuan (US$1.42 billion) fund dedicated to the industry.

Zhengzhou has joined a plethora of Chinese cities and provinces vowing to become leaders in the country’s metaverse development. South-eastern metropolis Shanghai anticipates its metaverse industry to hit an annual revenue of 350 billion yuan by the end of 2023. It has also announced the launch of a 10 billion yuan metaverse industrial fund for launch July 2023.

Dès 2016, plus de 3 000 entreprises en Chine composaient le secteur chinois de la réalité virtuelle. Et cette tendance ne fait que s'accentuer d'année en année. Tandis que Meta cherche à s'imposer sur ce marché avec sa filiale Meta Oculus Quest 2 et son metaverse Horizon World, l'industrie chinoise s'appuie sur la maison mère de TikTok, Bytedance, en misant sur sa filiale Pico dédiée à la réalité virtuelle.

The Metaverse's goal is to provide people with an augmented reality experience that, in many ways, may surpass physical reality in terms of experiences and opportunities.

Not only does blockchain allow for fast confirmation of information, but it also allows for cryptographically secure and protected transactions. Blockchain and crypto assets are a fundamental and integral aspect of how virtual reality will be deployed.
 
Building on the previous point, the Metaverse will want and require transactions to be completed on demand, which blockchain and crypto assets can help to enable.

Russia to Use Crypto Exchanges to Settle Cross-Border Transactions

Now, according to the latest report from Izvestiya, a Russian media publication, the authorities are ditching plans for the creation of a cryptocurrency exchange. Instead, they are planning to establish a framework for the operation and establishment of crypto exchanges.
 
Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma committee on the financial market, stated that instead of one national crypto exchange, well-established rules for crypto exchanges would be better.

It was stated by Aksakov that the crypto exchanges would be utilized for cross-border settlements. According to the statement, these include bypassing sanctions while at the same time complying with the rules. As stated by Aksakov, the central bank will oversee these crypto exchanges. Additionally, the draft law on experimental legal regimes will include the regulations.