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The cryptocurrency ether runs on the Ethereum network. Dado Ruvic/Reuters

Ethereum developers have defended the changes to the network that will come in the summer.

They said the alterations are very popular with users, as they make fees simpler and limit ether supply.

But miners remain disgruntled that their fees will be cut, with debate in the community ongoing.

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Developers on the Ethereum network have defended major changes that are set for the summer that will destroy ether tokens and cut the fees paid to miners, saying they’re popular with users and could boost the cryptocurrency’s price.

The planned alteration to the network, known in crypto jargon as EIP-1559, “is very popular among Ethereum users as it potentially makes Ethereum a deflationary asset,” Ben Edgington, a developer at ConsenSys, a company closely involved in the network, said on Tuesday.

Ethereum developers approved significant changes to the network that runs the ether cryptocurrency earlier in March. They are set to overhaul the current system under which users send tokens to miners to pay for transactions to be completed in a kind of auction process.

The changes have sparked anger among miners, however, as they would reduce the fees they receive. Some have even proposed a form of strike.

Yet developers say users support the changes, partly because the reduction in coins could lead to the price of ether rising sharply. Ether traded at around $1,800 on Wednesday. The token has gained around 145% so far this year.

Dan Finlay, lead developer on popular Ethereum wallet MetaMask, said: “Its purpose is to provide a more predictable transaction pricing system that reduces overpayment, and has some deflationary economics as a side benefit.”

Under the changes, which will likely come into force in July, users will send a base transaction fee to the network that would then destroy or “burn” ether tokens, thereby reducing the number of coins in circulation.

It will move the system away from the current mechanism, in which users have to bid to have their transactions included in blocks by miners, which can make fees very costly at times.

Edgington said these issues are “a significant problem for the usability of Ethereum and a barrier to the broader adoption of Ethereum by non-specialists.”

Lex Sokolin, co-head of fintech at ConsenSys, said the changes will take the network fees “from having an unpredictable and unbounded pricing mechanism to something that is much more predictable.”

The anonymous founder of Pylon, a major North American ether miner, said there was a lot of “turmoil” in the Ethereum world. They said miners had spent time and money building facilities, and now could be faced with heavy losses due to the changes.

“It goes back to the point [that] developers don’t mine, so they could care less about a miner, and miners don’t develop, so they could care less about reducing the congestion,” they said.

Some ether miners threatened to effectively go on strike, or try to disrupt the system in other ways in protest at the changes.

But there are signs of peace breaking out, with miners proposing their own EIP - which stands for Ethereum improvement proposal - that would raise their rewards and gradually lower them.

Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple’s XRP – Daily Tech Analysis – March 31st, 2021

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Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) – From his perch high above Midtown Manhattan, just across from Carnegie Hall, Bill Hwang was quietly building one of the world’s greatest fortunes.Even on Wall Street, few ever noticed him – until suddenly, everyone did.Hwang and his private investment firm, Archegos Capital Management, are now at the center of one of the biggest margin calls of all time – a multibillion-dollar fiasco involving secretive market bets that were dangerously leveraged and unwound in a blink.Hwang’s most recent ascent can be pieced together from stocks dumped by banks in recent days – ViacomCBS Inc., Discovery Inc. GSX Techedu Inc., Baidu Inc. – all of which had soared this year, sometimes confounding traders who couldn’t fathom why.One part of Hwang’s portfolio, which has been traded in blocks since Friday by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo & Co., was worth almost $40 billion last week. Bankers reckon that Archegos’s net capital – essentially Hwang’s wealth – had reached north of $10 billion. And as disposals keep emerging, estimates of his firm’s total positions keep climbing: tens of billions, $50 billion, even more than $100 billion.It evaporated in mere days.“I’ve never seen anything like this – how quiet it was, how concentrated, and how fast it disappeared,” said Mike Novogratz, a career macro investor and former partner at Goldman Sachs who’s been trading since 1994. “This has to be one of the single greatest losses of personal wealth in history.”Late Monday in New York, Archegos broke days of silence on the episode.“This is a challenging time for the family office of Archegos Capital Management, our partners and employees,” Karen Kessler, a spokesperson for the firm, said in an emailed statement. “All plans are being discussed as Mr. Hwang and the team determine the best path forward.”The cascade of trading losses has reverberated from New York to Zurich to Tokyo and beyond, and leaves myriad unanswered questions, including the big one: How could someone take such big risks, facilitated by so many banks, under the noses of regulators the world over?One part of the answer is that Hwang set up as a family office with limited oversight and then employed financial derivatives to amass big stakes in companies without ever having to disclose them. Another part is that global banks embraced him as a lucrative customer, despite a record of insider trading and attempted market manipulation that drove him out of the hedge fund business a decade ago.A disciple of hedge-fund legend Julian Robertson, Sung Kook “Bill” Hwang shuttered Tiger Asia Management and Tiger Asia Partners after settling an SEC civil lawsuit in 2012 accusing them of insider trading and manipulating Chinese banks stocks. Hwang and the firms paid $44 million, and he agreed to be barred from the investment advisory industry.He soon opened Archegos – Greek for “one who leads the way” – and structured it as a family office.Family offices that exclusively manage one fortune are generally exempt from registering as investment advisers with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. So they don’t have to disclose their owners, executives or how much they manage – rules designed to protect outsiders who invest in a fund. That approach makes sense for small family offices, but if they swell to the size of a hedge fund whale they can still pose risks, this time to outsiders in the broader market.“This does raise questions about the regulation of family offices once again,” said Tyler Gellasch, a former SEC aide who now runs the Healthy Markets trade group. “The question is if it’s just friends and family why do we care? The answer is that they can have significant market impacts, and the SEC’s regulatory regime even after Dodd-Frank doesn’t clearly reflect that.”Valuable CustomerArchegos established trading partnerships with firms including Nomura Holdings Inc., Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank AG and Credit Suisse Group AG. For a time after the SEC case, Goldman refused to do business with him on compliance grounds, but relented as rivals profited by meeting his needs.The full picture of his holdings is still emerging, and it’s not clear what positions derailed, or what hedges he had set up.One reason is that Hwang never filed a 13F report of his holdings, which every investment manager holding more than $100 million in U.S. equities must fill out at the end of each quarter. That’s because he appears to have structured his trades using total return swaps, essentially putting the positions on the banks’ balance sheets. Swaps also enable investors to add a lot of leverage to a portfolio.Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, for instance, are listed as the largest holders of GSX Techedu, a Chinese online tutoring company that’s been repeatedly targeted by short sellers. Banks may own shares for a variety of reasons that include hedging swap exposures from trades with their customers.‘Unhappy Investors’Goldman increased its position 54% in January, according to regulatory filings. Overall, banks reported holding at least 68% of GSX’s outstanding shares, according to a Bloomberg analysis of filings. Banks held at least 40% of IQIYI Inc, a Chinese video entertainment company, and 29% of ViacomCBS – all of which Archegos had bet on big.“I’m sure there are a number of really unhappy investors who have bought those names over the last couple of weeks,” and now regret it, Doug Cifu, chief executive officer of electronic-trading firm Virtu Financial Inc., said Monday in an interview on Bloomberg TV. He predicted regulators will examine whether “there should be more transparency and disclosure by a family office.”Without the need to market his fund to external investors, Hwang’s strategies and performance remained secret from the outside world. Even as his fortune swelled, the 50-something kept a low profile. Despite once working for Robertson’s Tiger Management, he wasn’t well-known on Wall Street or in New York social circles.Hwang is a trustee of the Fuller Theology Seminary, and co-founder of the Grace and Mercy Foundation, whose mission is to serve the poor and oppressed. The foundation had assets approaching $500 million at the end of 2018, according to its latest filing.“It’s not all about the money, you know,” he said in a rare interview with a Fuller Institute executive in 2018, in which he spoke about his calling as an investor and his Christian faith. “It’s about the long term, and God certainly has a long-term view.”His extraordinary run of fortune turned early last week as ViacomCBS Inc. announced a secondary offering of its shares. Its stock price plunged 9% the next day.The value of other securities believed to be in Archegos’ portfolio based on the positions that were block traded followed.By Thursday’s close, the value of the portfolio fell 27% – more than enough to wipe out the equity of an investor who market participants estimate was six to eight times levered.It’s also hurt some of the banks that served Hwang. Nomura and Credit Suisse warned of “significant” losses in the wake of the selloff and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. has flagged a potential $300 million loss.“You have to wonder who else is out there with one of these invisible fortunes,” said Novogratz. “The psychology of all that leverage with no risk management, it’s almost nihilism.”(Updates with latest bank to detail exposure in penultimate paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.

3 Reasons Ethereum Is About to Skyrocket

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The Canadian Press

Great to see ya, Buster Posey. Been a while, Tony La Russa. Good luck, Madison Bumgarner and every other National League pitcher toting a bat. From Comerica Park to Coors Field to the Coliseum, Major League Baseball is set to roll out a big welcome mat Thursday. Most of all, this opening day, it’ll be for the fans. When Gerrit Cole throws the first pitch of the season — weather permitting — nearly 11,000 people could be at Yankee Stadium. Healthcare workers will celebrated, and everyone will sit in socially distanced seats and wear masks, inside a park that will continue to operate as a mass coronavirus vaccination site. Far from normal. But after a year in which fans weren’t permitted at any regular-season game because of COVID-19 protocols, no longer will “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” strangely echo around empty ballparks during the seventh-inning stretch. “That’s how it’s supposed to be, I think,” said Bumgarner, ready to start for the Arizona Diamondbacks against Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and the San Diego Padres. “That’s what we’re doing. It’s an entertainment business. We’re all playing a game and competing and everyone’s got their team they pull for or just likes watching the game in general,” he said. Missing opening day, however, will be five players on the Washington Nationals. One of them tested positive for the virus this week — remember, last year Nats star Juan Soto had the virus and missed the opener. “Everybody across the game — we had seen so few positive cases across spring training as a whole," Nationals ace Max Scherzer said. “It just shows you how quickly that can turn. It can turn on a dime. We have to face it, and we have to overcome it.” Crowd sizes will vary around the majors. At Fenway Park, where Xander Bogaerts and the Boston Red Sox host Baltimore, 12% of capacity will be allowed. At Globe Life Field in Texas, where the Rangers open Monday, a full 100% will be permitted. The Rangers didn’t have any fans in their $1.2 billion palace that opened last year during the pandemic-shortened 60-game season. But 11,000 spectators were inside the Arlington, Texas, park when Clayton Kershaw, Mookie Betts, Corey Seager and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat Tampa Bay in MLB’s first neutral-site World Series. Boosted by signing NL Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer, the pitching-rich Dodgers start in Colorado, trying to become the first repeat champions since the New York Yankees in 1998-2000. Kershaw gets the opener against the Rockies, while Bauer goes in the second game. “I’m pumped up for it. Especially pumped up to get back in front of the LA fans for my first home start,” Bauer said. “This is going to be cool, putting on the Dodger uniform, playing with this group of guys. I’m really pumped up that baseball is back, especially now that we get to have fans in the stands,” he said. How many will actually be in the box seats and bleachers on April Fools' Day might depend on the weather. Rain is forecast early in the day for Boston, New York and Philadelphia. Same in Washington, too, where a marquee matchup is waiting at Nationals Park: Two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom of the Mets faces Scherzer, a three-time Cy champ. Temperatures are supposed to be in the 30s with gusty winds at Wrigley Field when Kris Bryant and the Chicago Cubs host Pittsburgh. Also in the low 30s in Detroit, where Cleveland ace Shane Bieber faces the Tigers, and chilly in Cincinnati, where the Reds take on St. Louis newcomer Nolan Arenado. Jack Flaherty pitches for the Cardinals. Two teammates from his Southern California high school a decade ago also start on opening day — Max Fried for the Braves in Philadelphia and Lucas Giolito for the Chicago White Sox against Mike Trout and rejuvenated two-way star Shohei Ohtani at Angel Stadium. Arenado and Bauer are among the many stars who switched teams in the off-season. The Padres acquired Blake Snell and Yu Darvish, the Mets traded for Francisco Lindor, the White Sox added closer Liam Hendriks and the Yankees hope low-risk moves for Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon pay off. Some teams will benefit from getting their own players back on the field. Posey of the Giants, Ryan Zimmerman of the Nats, David Price of the Dodgers and Marcus Stroman of the Mets were among those who opted out of playing last year because of coronavirus concerns. A six-time All-Star and three-time World Series champ, Posey liked what he saw in spring training. “Watching the games on TV last year and seeing just cardboard fans in the stands, it was definitely nice to see some live humans out there,” he said. A more curious sight: La Russa, at 76 years old and already in the Hall of Fame, returning to manage the fortified White Sox. His last time in the dugout was 2011, in a World Series Game 7 win for the Cardinals. Alex Cora, who guided Boston to the 2018 crown, rejoins the Red Sox while AJ Hinch takes over the Tigers. Both managers were suspended last year for their roles in the 2017 Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. Also around the bases: THE GROUND RULES Some of the experiments that debuted last season are back: seven-inning doubleheaders, automatic runners at second base to start extra innings. The expanded playoff field is back to 10 teams, down from 16. And the designated hitter in the National League is gone. That means pitchers who usually flail away will try to make contact after a year layoff. The DH could become permanent in the NL next season. In the meantime, those pitchers could get help on the mound as MLB is trying out a slightly deadened baseball that supposedly doesn’t fly quite so far. DEBUTS Supremely qualified, Kim Ng finally got her chance and begins the season with the Miami Marlins as MLB’s first female general manager. “Failure is not an option for me,” the 52-year-old Ng said. … Forced out of Canada because of the virus, the Toronto Blue Jays will play their home opener April 8 at their spring training field in Dunedin, Florida — about 1,275 fans will be allowed at 8,500-seat TD Ballpark. MISSING White Sox slugger Eloy Jiménez, Toronto newcomer George Springer, Rays reliever Nick Anderson and 2020 home run champ Luke Voit all got injured during spring training. Aces Justin Verlander, Chris Sale, Noah Syndergaard and Mike Clevinger are recovering from major surgery. Robinson Canó is serving a season-long drug suspension and Masahiro Tanaka went home to pitch in Japan. Nick Markakis, Alex Gordon, Gio Gonzalez, Daniel Murphy and Dustin Pedroia retired and Ryan Braun says he’s leaning that way. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Ben Walker, The Associated Press