More than 50,000 developers are actively involved in a local blockchain platform endorsed by the Chinese government. Yin Hejun, representing the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, communicated the significant commitment by the local government to advancing the Web3 industry in a written response to the National Committee of the Chinese People Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) proposal.

China shifting to Web3

Yin emphasized that the suggestions related to enhancing resource support for Web3 technology research and development, fortifying technology supervision and management, promoting international cooperation, and intensifying publicity and promotion exhibit foresight and strategic alignment with the key priorities set forth by the Ministry.

The provided document recognizes the sturdy industrial base of China alongside its substantial potential for Web3, encompassing policy backing, technological exploration, and practical applications. The document highlights official directives on blockchain technology and ongoing innovation pilots exploring diverse applications, such as trade finance and intellectual property. Prominent Chinese technology enterprises like Ant Group, Baidu, and Huawei underscore the pivotal role of the consortium in this sector.

Advancement with a catch

To expedite blockchain adoption, the Ministry of Science and Technology, alongside other governmental entities, has introduced certain policies and standards. Local initiatives in Beijing and Shanghai specifically aim to nurture innovation within the Web3 sphere. Authorities are capitalizing on opportunities in this emerging field by creating a conducive environment through guidelines, committees, and targeted initiatives.

The embracing of Web3 technologies by China indicates a significant shift compared to its previous stance of prohibiting cryptocurrencies and cracking down on mining operations. Nonetheless, concerns linger around the Chinese CBDC, the digital Yuan, which, while positioned as an advanced payment mechanism, enables unprecedented surveillance and control by authorities.

The proportion of extended ETH holders surged in 2023, surpassing Bitcoin for the second time in history. Based on insights via the on chain analytics platform IntoTheBlock, Ethereum has demonstrated notable progress in the percentage of investors maintaining their assets for over a year, marking a significant milestone for the blockchain, with the majority of current investors adopting a long term holding strategy.

ETH Long Term Holders Take Lead Over BTC

While the price performance of ETH lagged behind Bitcoin throughout 2023, this trend is expected, given the sheer dominance exhibited by BTC in bullish indicators and investor confidence. However, data indicates a growing number of Ethereum investors committing to holding ETH for an extended period, likely fueled by the anticipation of substantial future value appreciation.

Long term holders, characterized by their reluctance to sell during market volatility and price declines, play a crucial role in sustaining blockchain health, contributing to stability and mitigating price fluctuations.

History Repeats Itself

Ethereum has previously surpassed Bitcoin in this metric only once before, and it is noteworthy that during that instance, ETH went on to maintain leadership in this category over the subsequent months. Conversely, other metrics reveal that Bitcoin still maintains superiority over Ethereum in terms of profitability. Presently, nearly all BTC addresses show profitability at the current price, compared to ETH addresses which do show profitability albeit to a lesser extent.

In any case, the heightened profitability of Bitcoin is attributed to a significant number of early BTC assumed to be permanently lost. Consequently, the metric indicating holders who purchased at the current price places Ethereum ahead of Bitcoin.

pEvery time a new billionaire buys Bitcoin we tend to reserve a section in the Newsletter for the newest BillionaireturnedBitcoiner While the most prolific investor of all time has not quite taken the plunge yet his latest investment was certainly a step in the right direction Last week Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet finalized anbspa hrefhttpswwwforbescomsitesangelicamarideoliveirawarrenbuffettsberkshirehathwayinvestsmillioninbrazilianchallengernubankshcabe targetblankM series Gnbspainvestment into the Brazilian proBitcoin digital bank Nubank Nubank says it will offer bitcoin investments following its acquisition of brokerage firm Easynvest which offers the trading of Brazilrsquos first bitcoin exchangetraded fund ETFppFounded in nbspa hrefhttpsnubankcombren targetblankNubankanbspsays it has million customers making it the largest digital bank in the world in terms of the number of clients With the new investments Nubank has become ldquothe most valuable digital bank in the world and one of the largest financial institutions in Latin Americardquo the announcement details Nubank said Tuesday that it plans to use the money raised to fund its international expansion to Mexico and Colombia launch new products and services and hire more employees The postmoney valuation of Nubank is estimated at billionppnbspppstrongIs Warren Changing His Mind On CryptostrongppFor as long as he has been around Warren Buffet has been a value investor He finds companies with strong cash flows that he thinks are undervalued and invests big into them For this reason Bitcoin doesnt fit nicely into his investment thesis because it is not a company does not earn cash flow and does not have a CEO to bet on However given the meteoric rise of Bitcoin as a store of value I dont think it will be long before we see Warren holding a percentage of his funds in Bitcoin as opposed to dollarsp

pAs time progresses it has become increasingly evident that blockchain technology will not be limited to the boundaries of financial services While distributed ledger technology has made the digital transfer of value seamless inclusive free of duplication risk and intermediaries it is also changing the rules of the game for many other industries dominated by gatekeepersnbspppOne of such industries is thenbspa hrefhttpscointelegraphcomnewsblockchaintodisruptmusicindustryandmakeitchangetune targetblankmusic industrya In todayrsquos music industry it would be foolish to deny the contribution of the streaming platforms such as Napster Soundcloud and Spotify in empowering the creators with a costefficient and userfriendly alternative to piracy It has allowed them to receive royalties for their work in a more transparent way than before Yet there exists an undeniable discrepancy when it comes to the distribution of royalties Analysts and experts find that the market remains skewed with a limited number of hyperproductive artists dominating most royalty paymentsnbspppSeveral blockchain solutions are trying to remove this disparity by improving conditions for new and emerging artists so that they get better visibility do not need to pay any intermediaries and in turn get their due royalties in full Opus one such blockchainbased solution catering to the music industry is a PP network for file sharing and storage with its users acting as servers This unique structure ensures that there are no hosting fees related to streamingnbspppOn another layernbspa hrefhttpsopusaudio targetblankOpusanbspalso leverages the Ethereum network for payment management Leveraging selfexecuting smart contracts Opus ensures an independent distribution of content and royalties As a result the artists retain almost all of the payments and incoming revenue There are other platforms such asnbspa hrefhttpwwwmediachainio targetblankMediachainanbspa hrefhttpwwwmusiclifeio targetblankMusiclifeanbspa hrefhttpswwwemusiccom targetblankeMusica and more that are attempting similar ways to guarantee independent artists a larger share of their dues along with a more uniform and equitable distribution of content We hope that such blockchainbased platforms will augment their services in the days to come making content creation a more profitable earning opportunity for upcoming artistsp