Nicolas Maduro Tempts West With an Abundance of Oil and Gas, Venezuelan President Wants Sanctions Lifted

Amid the economic rumblings across the world and the energy crisis in Europe, Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro has said his country is ready to step up and help with oil. Despite the fact that Venezuela has the largest supply of crude oil in the world, U.S. economic sanctions imposed in 2019 by the Trump administration … Read more

While the US Dollar Tramples the Euro, Pound and Yen, Russia’s Ruble Skyrockets Against the Greenback

While the U.S. dollar has soared in value against a basket of worldwide fiat currencies, Russia’s ruble climbed 4.5% against the greenback this week. During the first week of September, Russia told the press China would pay for natural gas with rubles and yuan. Moreover, Switzerland’s imports of Russian gold reached a high not seen … Read more

Ethereum’s Post-Merge Transfer Fees Remain Low, Since Mid-May High-Priority ETH Fees Are 93% Cheaper

Following Ethereum’s transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) on September 15, the blockchain network’s transaction fees have been much lower than they were ten days before The Merge. Roughly four months ago on May 13, 2022, high-priority ether transactions could cost 68 gwei or $2.97 per transaction, and today at $0.18, a high-priority ether … Read more

Hungary’s Prime Minister Says ‘Europe Has Run out of Energy’ Amid Russia’s Gas Standoff

Europe is suffering and struggling to contain an energy crisis according to various reports that say the eurozone might have to deal with a cold winter that could lead to energy rationing and blackouts. A recent survey published by the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE) shows seven out of ten Greeks purchase less food … Read more

Russia Shuts Off EU Gas, Vitalik Discusses Bitcoin Security, and More — Bitcoin.com News Week in Review

Macro markets and geopolitics dominated the news this week, with Russia cutting off Europe’s gas supply, hedge funds betting against Italian debt, and the International Monetary Fund’s bailout for Zambia helping the kwacha overtake the ruble as the world’s best-performing currency. Also in this week’s news, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin discusses the crypto economy crash … Read more

Russia Shuts off Europe’s Main Gas Pipeline Until the West’s Sanctions Are Lifted, Iran Tempts EU With Similar Deal

Russia has seemingly drawn a line in the sand and will not turn on Europe’s main gas pipeline until the “collective West” lifts the financial sanctions against the country. The move follows the Nord Stream 1 pipeline allegedly shutting down for “maintenance,” but reports from Interfax that followed five days later indicate Moscow will not … Read more

Rome’s Financial Volatility to Shock the Eurozone — Hedge Funds Bet $39 Billion Against Italian Debt

Hedge funds are betting against Rome’s liabilities as S&P Market Intelligence data indicates investors have amassed a $37 billion short bet against Italian debt. The hedge funds are betting large against Italian bonds and investors haven’t bet this high against Rome since 2008, as Italy faces political uncertainty, an energy crisis, and an inflation rate … Read more

Onchain Ethereum Fees Remain Low Ahead of the Merge, 4 L2 Networks Offer Transfers Below a Nickel

With just over two weeks until The Merge, Ethereum network fees have reduced significantly as the average ethereum transfer fee has dropped to 0.00092 ether or $1.37 per transaction on August 28. Median-sized fees have slid to 0.00036 ether or $0.544 per transfer, and etherscan.io’s gas tracking tool notes a priority fee will cost 11 … Read more

Bitcoin Mining Operations Continue to Expand Amid the Crypto Winter, While Converting ‘Wasted Gas to Energy at Scale’

The bitcoin mining industry continues to expand as companies are obtaining more megawatts of capacity, building new facilities, and acquiring thousands of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining rigs. On Friday, the firm Validus Power revealed it has acquired two natural gas power stations in Ontario, Canada, that will become crypto mining facilities. On the same … Read more

For 38 Consecutive Days Ethereum Gas Fees Record the Lowest Rates Since 2020

In 43 days, the Ethereum network could finally see a full transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) via The Merge. Meanwhile, during the last 38 days, Ethereum’s layer one (L1) onchain transaction fees have dropped below the $5 mark and tumbled even lower by the end of July. At the time of writing, the … Read more