Cryptocurrency
Redefining Money: America’s digital currency dilemma
On Wednesday, Sept. 20, the United States House Financial Services Committee marked up two bills to curb the issuance of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). One of the bills would stop the Federal Reserve from running any test programs on CBDCs without congressional approval, while the other would stop federal banks from using CBDCs for some services and products.
The principal political adversaries to a digital dollar are heavyweights such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who have thrown their hats into the ring to become president a year from November.
In July, DeSantis said that CBDCs would never happen under his administration, citing concerns over consumers losing power over their own money. Kennedy, on the other hand, a known proponent of Bitcoin, is rallying against the digital dollar as it will “vastly magnify the government’s power to suffocate dissent by cutting off access to funds with a keystroke.“
No CBDC in Florida https://t.co/p9pwSTmrlN
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 20, 2023
In May, Cointelegraph reported that according to its own research, more than 130 countries were at some stage of research into a CBDC, and only eight had rejected the idea outright. These countries are diverse, from France and Switzerland to Haiti and Bhutan. So, the question must be asked: Why would a country like the United States be so opposed to having its own digital currency?
The idea of a CBDC in itself is nothing too taxing. In essence, digital dollars would be based on blockchain technology rather than having traditional dollars moving around between accounts. That would dramatically decrease transfer times, cut fees, and do away with the “middlemen” — the intermediaries along the way who slow things down and take a cut for themselves.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation found that in 2021, there were still 5.9 million “unbanked’ households in the United States, a massive number by any standard.
A CBDC would mean that the Federal Reserve would effectively oversee all the bank transfers in the country, as there would be no alternative. And having everything under one roof means one mistake or failure would affect everyone rather than be limited to one bank, for instance.
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But perhaps the biggest argument against a CBDC is that, for cryptocurrency purists, having a central institution overseeing a currency is the very thing crypto was designed to avoid. Why now make a U-turn?
Political motivations play a significant role in the discussion in the United States. In March 2022, President Joseph Biden said his administration would “place the highest urgency on research and development efforts into the potential design and deployment options of a United States CBDC.”
This provided fodder for the Republican party to come out against the plan, citing invasion of privacy and claiming it was another form of government control. DeSantis even came out with an Orwellian prediction of the government stopping its citizens from buying fossil fuels or guns if such legislation were in place.
This is not to say that the U.S. hasn’t looked into a CBDC, as it has extensively.
In 2020, the Federal Reserve launched Project Hamilton to study the viability of a CBDC. By 2022, it had developed a system that took elements from the workings of Bitcoin but moved away from its rigid blockchain backbone. The result was a system that can process 1.7 million transactions per second, light years ahead of the Bitcoin blockchain and quicker even than Visa, which can deal with about 65,000 transactions per second.
David Millar, data center coordinator at Santander, told Cointelegraph: “The leaps forward they made during Project Hamilton were truly staggering. When we heard of the progress they were making, we believed that our entire infrastructure would need to be completely revamped within the next five years.”
Nevertheless, the project completed its initial phase in December 2022 and went no further. Once again, voices of dissent from Congress attacked the project, saying it had been carried out solely with academics and the public sector in mind and the average citizen would not benefit. Millar added:
“The time and effort that went into Hamilton and the results they produced; it’s a tragedy that most of it will never see the light of day.”
The issue of privacy is one of the most prominent foes of the digital dollar. The main argument of the dissenters is that if there is to be a digital dollar, it should effectively be like the cash dollar is now, with its benefits of anonymity coupled with the power and speed of a cryptocurrency. Those who favor a digital dollar argue that we already have such a thing, but it’s just not called that yet. Credit card money is digital for all intents and purposes, and are any of us mailing cash to Amazon to pay for things?
The world is moving toward a cashless society, and the U.S. is no exception. In 2022, only 18% of all U.S. payments were made in cash, down from 31% in 2016.
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The U.S. is also a country of strange contradictions. While it surges ahead in many areas, such as technology, its banking system remains rooted in the traditional, with check payments still being the norm. Dragging a whole nation away from that is a tall order.
So, what does the future hold for a potential U.S. CBDC? Well, very little. Project Hamilton closed with no indication of a second phase, and according to Darrell Duffie, a professor of finance at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, while work is continuing, it has slowed to a snail’s pace, and “nobody is charging ahead openly.”
It seems for the foreseeable future, this will be one part of the cryptosphere where the U.S. is not a pioneer.
Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe has made a bold prediction, forecasting that the price of Bitcoin could reach $500,000, with Ethereum’s soaring past $20,000 in the coming years.
His outlook, supported by macroeconomic trends and growing institutional adoption, suggests that the crypto market is on the cusp of an unprecedented rally.
Overcoming ‘Bear Market PTSD’
Market sentiment is currently quite low following one of the biggest daily sell-offs in crypto history, which saw more than $400 billion wiped off in less than a day. However, while Van de Poppe acknowledges the bearish outlook, he argues that the market is primed for a major bull run.
According to him, a “perfect storm” is brewing, fueled by growing institutional adoption and the U.S. government’s more tolerant stance on crypto. This includes a proposal for a national digital asset stockpile. Additionally, institutions are launching crypto products providing greater market access and banks have been given the leeway to offer custody services following the SEC’s revocation of SAB 121.
Van de Poppe admitted that many investors were skeptical, still haunted by past downturns, a phenomenon he called “bear market PTSD,” which makes it hard for traders to believe in a long-term uptrend. Nonetheless, he argued that Bitcoin and Ethereum’s trajectories should not be judged by past cycles alone, especially given their increasing global adoption and the ongoing influx of institutional capital, including millions spent on crypto by an organization linked to U.S. President Donald Trump.
A shifting macroeconomic landscape could also boost crypto’s explosion. The analyst suggests that China’s economic strategy to deal with Trump’s new tariffs could create the perfect condition for altcoins to thrive.
In his opinion, the Asian giant has two options to counter the U.S.: devalue its currency to continue exporting products into the United States or focus on its own domestic market to become stronger. If it chose the second option, it would mean selling its dollar reserves, buying back the renminbi, and making it solvent.
Such a situation, in Van de Poppe’s opinion, would cause the dollar to lose some of its strength, and a weaker dollar coupled with lower yield bonds often leads to increased capital flow into digital assets.
Exponential Gains
Taking everything into consideration, Van de Poppe outlined two likely possibilities. In the blow-off top scenario, he envisions a rapid bull run, similar to the dot-com boom of the ‘90s, which could see BTC shoot up to anywhere between $300,000 and $500,000 before a sharp correction.
Ethereum would follow suit and could climb past $20,000 with the acceleration of institutional adoption, potentially powered by its new marketing initiative, Etherealize.
The second option would be an extended supercycle, leading to a slower but self-sustaining rally that could drive Bitcoin’s value towards $1 million over the next few years. ETH would also benefit from taking advantage of the expected growth of layer-2 networks and institutional DeFi integration to push to $30,000.
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TL;DR
- Large investors bought 750 million DOGE during the recent dip, potentially setting the stage for a price rebound.
- While some analysts expect a further drop to $0.17, historical trends suggest the possibility of another explosive bull run for Dogecoin in the coming months.
Time for a Reversal?
The cryptocurrency market has suffered substantial losses in the past week, mainly due to the crash witnessed on February 3. Bitcoin (BTC) is down 6% for that timeframe but it was the altcoins that took the major hit.
The OG meme coin, Dogecoin (DOGE), was among the biggest losers, with its price plunging well below $0.30 and tanking by 21% weekly (per CoinGecko’s data).
However, it seems like whales have interpreted the downtrend as a “buy the dip” opportunity and increased their exposure to the asset. X user Ali Martinez revealed that large investors purchased 750 million tokens (worth almost $200 million) during the correction. “This is a strong sign of confidence in the market,” the analyst claimed.
Whale accumulation is often seen as a bullish signal since it could make some traders follow suit and thus trigger a potential price uptrend. The buying spree also leaves fewer assets available on the open market, meaning DOGE’s valuation might head north (assuming demand remains constant or increases).
The whales’ latest actions contrast to those at the beginning of the month. Back then, they offloaded 270 million DOGE in the span of 24 hours, which was shortly after, followed by a price decline.
DOGE Predictions
The meme coin’s market dynamics have caused numerous people to speculate on its next potential move. The X user AMCrypto assumed that DOGE might be headed for a further decline to as low as $0.17 before rallying toward a new all-time high.
Trader Tardigrade and KALEO also chipped in recently. The former forecasted a massive bull run, citing the token’s historical performance:
“In the 2016 pullback, DOGE retraced 59.76%, followed by a +9,221% bull run. In the 2020 pullback, DOGE retraced 56.2%, followed by a +30,693% bull run. When in doubt, check the macro chart.”
KALEO was bullish, too, seeing $0.25 as “a solid entry and practically free compared to where we’ll see it a few months from now.”
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[PRESS RELEASE – Singapore, Singapore, February 6th, 2025]
Academic Labs, a notable innovator in the education sector, has announced its listing on Bitpanda, one of Europe’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. This milestone follows the release of Whitepaper 2.0, which details advancements in its EduFi Ecosystem, built on the Solana blockchain. The whitepaper introduces the AAX Chain and the AI-Agent layer, two innovations aiming to transform education by harnessing AI and Web3 technologies. Notably, Academic Labs has demonstrated remarkable potential, with its cryptocurrency volume doubling and rising by 70% even when the market was down, indicating strong prospects for 2025.
Whitepaper 2.0 introduces two innovations: the AAX Chain and the AI-Agent layer. The AAX Chain, built on the Solana blockchain, harnesses its high-speed, low-cost, and scalable infrastructure to optimize educational resources and facilitate seamless knowledge discovery, curation, and sharing. The native AAX Token, following the SPL token standard, serves as the lifeblood of the ecosystem, enabling value exchange, governance, and incentivization.
The AI-Agent layer enhances personalized learning by leveraging the power of advanced machine learning algorithms. By analyzing large amounts of data from the Universal Library of Knowledge and the comprehensive Learner Data Layer, the AI-Agent generates adaptive learning paths, content recommendations, and targeted support, ensuring that each learner receives a tailored educational experience.
Whitepaper 2.0 also highlights the integration of decentralized identity (DID) within the Academic Labs EduFi Ecosystem. Leveraging the Solana blockchain’s capabilities, learners can create and manage their digital identities securely and transparently, empowering them to showcase their achievements and skills across various platforms while maintaining control over their educational data.
Furthermore, the whitepaper explores the incorporation of decentralized science (DeSci) and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications within the ecosystem. By tapping into Solana’s robust DeFi infrastructure, Academic Labs offers learners and educators novel opportunities to engage with tokenized assets, participate in yield farming and staking programs, and access innovative funding models for educational projects and research endeavors.
The tokenomics of the AAX Token, as detailed in the whitepaper, ensure the long-term sustainability and growth of the Academic Labs EduFi Ecosystem. With a carefully designed token allocation and unlocking schedule, the ecosystem is structured to align incentives and foster long-term commitment to the platform’s success.
Prior to Whitepaper 2.0, Academic Labs had already made steady progress in the EduFi space, launching a successful MVP, hosting hackathons and courses at top universities, and empowering various ecosystems with more than 2 million people.
The whitepaper outlines an ambitious timeline for expanding the Academic Labs EduFi Ecosystem. The platform plans to launch a suite of new products powered by AI and gamification functions in the coming months, enhancing user engagement and learning outcomes. Additionally, Academic Labs aims to secure new listing opportunities for the AAX Token across global cryptocurrency exchanges, increasing liquidity and accessibility for users worldwide.
Following the prior listing on Gate.io, on February 7th, Academic Labs will be listed on Bitpanda, one of Europe’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. This represents a key step in Academic Labs’ efforts to expand its education-focused initiatives through Web3 and AI.
With the introduction of the AAX Chain, AI-Agent layer, and the planned expansion of its product offerings and token listings, Academic Labs aims to develop AI-driven solutions for the education sector. The integration of advanced technologies, along with the platform’s existing ecosystem, supports its ongoing efforts to enhance digital learning experiences.
About Academic Labs:
Platform: https://acad.live
CoinGecko: https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/academic-labs
Gate: https://www.gate.io/tr/trade/AAX_USDT
Bitpanda: https://www.bitpanda.com/en/bitpanda-spotlight
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