Ethereum Reaches New All-time High Of $2,200

Ethereum Reaches New All-time High Of $2,200

The Guardian

The interior secretary has announced the formation of a new unit to investigate the ‘epidemic’ of violence Deb Haaland announced the formation of the Missing & Murdered Unit just two weeks after being sworn in. Photograph: Reuters For 30 long years, Ana White has been searching for her sister, Andrea “Chick” White. The then 22-year-old Native mother of four including an eight-month-old baby had traveled to Eureka, California, in July 1991 for a court date, after an auto accident. She was spotted hitchhiking home along a freeway near Blue Lake, in northern California. She has been missing ever since. White, who described her sister as a great mother and very giving person, has repeatedly prodded local law enforcement, who she said have largely given her “lip service”, and helped to spread awareness about the case through social media posts. But for three frustrating decades the situation has remained unchanged.Now, after the secretary of the interior, Deb Haaland, announced the formation of a new unit to investigate the epidemic of missing and murdered Native Americans, she said she has suddenly found herself with a renewed sense of hope.“It’s like, oh, suddenly I’m breathing. It’s like I’m being resuscitated,” said White, a member of the Hoopa Valley Tribe. “If my feelings were to be visible, that’s what you’d see. Somehow, I’ve got this oxygen tank right here, and Deb Haaland put it on my side.”Haaland, the first Indigenous cabinet secretary in US history, announced the formation of the Missing & Murdered Unit (MMU) within the Bureau of Indian Affairs office of justice services earlier this month, just two weeks after being sworn in.In a statement, Haaland, an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Laguna, described the violence against Native people as a “crisis that has been underfunded for decades”. People participate in a march in downtown Rapid City, South Dakota, 14 February 2019, to call attention to missing and murdered Native American women and girls. Photograph: Ryan Hermens/AP “The new MMU unit will provide the resources and leadership to prioritize these cases and coordinate resources to hold people accountable, keep our communities safe, and provide closure for families,” she said. Activists and experts in the Native community told the Guardian that the formation of a unit poised to tackle this horrific epidemic of violence against Native people, especially women and girls, is an important and potentially game-changing development. But some also cautioned that this is also only the start of important work.Roxanne White, a survivor of human trafficking, a family member of missing and murdered Indigenous people and an activist, said she was excited that Haaland has this position and is leading this work. But, she said, moving forward she would like to see there be a real collaboration between officials and families within the new unit.“We are going to be the ones to guide this,” said White. “I really believe this, because we’re the ones that have been doing this work. We’ve been doing the searches; we’ve been the ones dealing with all of this stuff … The relationship between, you know, governmental, FBI, DoJ and families has to be stronger, and it has to be more meaningful and authentic.” White said she would also like to see the unit go beyond cold cases and current investigations and actually help to prevent these horrific tragedies through trauma-informed, culturally based wraparound services, including housing and drug and alcohol treatment.About 1,500 American Indian and Alaska Native people across the US are listed as missing in the National Crime Information Center, while thousands of other cases of murder and non-negligent homicide have been reported to the federal government’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program. In 2008, the justice department found that Native women on some tribal lands were murdered at more than 10 times the national average.The new unit is expected to investigate unsolved cases as well as active missing and murdered investigations, and boost overall collaboration with such agencies as the FBI Forensic Laboratory and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. It is also expected to build on the work by Operation Lady Justice, a presidential taskforce launched in 2019 under the Trump administration to examine missing and murdered Native cases that has been criticized by some as being vague and uninformed. According to a statement out of the US Department of the Interior, the new effort “builds on that work by designating new leadership and support positions, including a unit chief responsible for stakeholder collaboration, continued policy development and overall performance of the unit”.Sarah Deer, a distinguished professor at the University of Kansas, who has written extensively about violence against Native Americans, said there were still many unknowns in terms of what this new unit will actually look like. She said it was important to make sure it doesn’t become some kind of “one size fits all plan”.“Oftentimes, the federal government and the federal courts tend to just lump us all into one category, when we have very, very, very small tribes and very, very large tribes, and the way that justice is going to be pursued in those kinds of differing tribes, we can’t have a one size fits all,” said Deer, a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation in Oklahoma.Deborah Maytubee Shipman, the director and founder of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women USA, described Haaland as “our great hope”. She told the Guardian about the challenging experience of sitting down with a family whose 14-year-old daughter was found dead. When they went to identify her body, she had a severe head injury, said Maytubee Shipman. And yet no criminal charges were filed because officials determined she died of hypothermia.“The thing is, that won’t be the last time, but I hope it’s coming – I don’t say hope, I know that she’s going to do everything she can to stop that,” said Maytubee Shipman, a member of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma.For Ana White, who said she still believes her sister is alive, the new unit could mean her sister’s case will get a fresh look. She said she hoped the FBI would get involved and uncover important things local law enforcement agents missed.“I believe that we’re going to take our case to them and they will come,” she said. “We’re going to be relentless on having Chick’s case looked at by them.”

What’s the Difference Between Bitcoin and Ethereum?

Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) is the largest cryptocurrency in the market, but with a total market value of about $240 billion, second-largest digital asset Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) isn’t exactly tiny itself. While these are both forms of the same general asset class, there are some major differences between the two. In this Fool Live video clip, recorded on March 18, senior analyst John Rotonti and Motley Fool Deutschland lead analyst Bernd Schmid discuss the key differences investors should be aware of.

John Rotonti: There are other cryptocurrencies. One of the ones that I hear the most about is Ethereum. What are the differences between Bitcoin and Ethereum, or Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies?

Bernd Schmid: This is a great question and very difficult to answer. Nonetheless, for me, I am an engineer actually, and even now, I’m trying to frame it from an investment perspective. Ethereum is also based on a blockchain. I’m not sure if you could call it the cryptocurrency, if it’s a currency or not. What is a currency? Ethereum was designed about six or seven years ago, I think 2014, 2015, if I’m not mistaken. Based on the idea, Bitcoin is great, but I would like to make this programmable. For example, I would like to make an automatic program, a code which is like, you want to borrow me some Bitcoin, we have to orally agree and we have to sign an agreement or something like this. The creator for Ethereum was thinking, “Hey, why don’t we just make this as a code on the blockchain?” When both people agree to borrow Bitcoin, that this will be recorded on the blockchain and the transfer happens automatically. So the whole process will be automated. I think this was the main idea behind Ethereum, and Ethereum is actually more like a platform. It’s a platform for building such kind of contract like I was just describing, like lending contracts, or you could build decentralized exchanges like completely automated, like you have an exchange which is running just based on code on the Ethereum blockchain, so to say. This is what Ethereum was designed for. You could theoretically do the same thing with Bitcoin or these things could be delivered with Bitcoin. The Bitcoin community, the guys who run the notes, right now at least, they want to keep Bitcoin basic. They don’t want to add functionality. So Bitcoin is just useful currently as buying it, storing it, and transferring it to somebody else. You cannot do much more with it on the Bitcoin network.

How to Stake Ethereum on Coinbase • 4 Easy Steps • Benzinga

The Ethereum network is in the process of upgrading its blockchain. If you want to transact on Ethereum today, it’ll cost you anywhere from $10 to $100, depending on the type of transaction you want to perform. Due to Ethereum’s proof-of-work model, the network can only process about 15 transactions per second. The Eth 2.0 upgrade will improve both the cost and transaction throughput of Ethereum’s blockchain.

This upgrade to Ethereum will replace the crypto miners with staked Ethereum, a model known as proof-of-stake (POS). Anyone who owns Ether tokens can stake their tokens on the Eth 2.0 chain, and you can earn rewards for doing so. Currently, the interest rate equivalent of these rewards is about 7.5% annually.

To run your own validator node, you’ll need 32 Ethereum tokens. However, cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase allow anyone to easily stake their Ethereum tokens with no minimum required.

Step 1: Make a Coinbase account.

If you don’t already have a Coinbase account, you’ll need to create one via the Coinbase mobile app. Signing up for Coinbase is a simple process –– all you have to do is enter your name, email, and location, then create a secure password.

Once you’ve made an account you’ll need to verify your identity for tax purposes. Some documentation you’ll need is your driver’s license, the last 4 digits of your Social Security number and your date of birth. Once you’re verified, you can purchase any cryptocurrency supported on Coinbase’s exchange.

Step 2: Purchase Ethereum tokens.

Staking Ethereum requires you to purchase Ether tokens. You can buy Ethereum tokens directly on Coinbase, making it easy for you to buy and stake your Ethereum tokens all in one place. You can purchase Ether tokens in a similar way to stocks: as a market order or a limit order. Market orders will purchase Ether tokens at market price, while limit orders only purchase Ether tokens if it hits a prespecified price that you set when placing your limit order.

Step 3: Join the waitlist.

Unfortunately, you can’t stake Ethereum tokens on Coinbase right away. Due to the high demand to stake Ethereum, Coinbase created a waitlist that puts you in line to stake your Ether tokens. The wait time can vary, but the sooner you join the waitlist, the sooner you’ll be able to earn interest on your Ethereum tokens. If you want to get started staking right away, Kraken offers Ethereum staking without a waitlist.

Step 4: Stake your Ethereum tokens.

Since Coinbase runs the validator nodes, all you need to do is deposit any amount of Ether tokens to stake and the exchange will do the rest. Once you’ve staked your Ethereum tokens on the Eth 2.0 network, you can sit back, relax, and watch your cryptocurrency portfolio earn interest without doing anything.

Proof-of-Stake (PoS) vs Proof-of-Work (PoW)

Bitcoin, the 1st public blockchain, uses a proof-of-work (PoW) validation model to verify transactions on the blockchain. Many other blockchains followed suit — Litecoin, Ethereum and Dash are all PoW blockchains. This validation model relies on a network of cryptocurrency miners that use powerful computers to secure the blockchain. However, PoW uses immense amounts of electricity, and these blockchains can’t handle nearly as many transactions as proof-of-stake chains can.

Proof-of-Stake (PoS) was 1st used in Peercoin, an altcoin that launched back in 2013. Crypto engineer Sunny King ideated this proof-of-stake blockchain as a solution to many inefficiencies of the PoW model. Instead of using energy-intensive cryptocurrency miners, users can stake their tokens to act as validators on the blockchain. If the validator tries to cheat the system in any way, their funds can be seized.

Staking cryptocurrency in this way secures the network from fraudulent transactions. The more cryptocurrency you stake, the more influence you have over the blockchain; however, the more crypto you stake, the more you risk losing if you try to cheat the system. When you stake your Ether tokens, a computer program will validate transactions on your behalf accurately, so you don’t need to do anything else to earn interest once your tokens are staked.

Pros and Cons of Staking Ethereum

You should evaluate your goals as an investor before deciding whether to stake your Ethereum tokens. Cryptocurrencies are one of the most volatile asset classes you can invest in, so you should have a high-risk tolerance if you decide to stake Ethereum.

Staking Ethereum will earn you interest on your principal investment. This interest, projected to settle around 4% to 8% annually, is paid in Ether tokens. This is great if you think Ethereum will appreciate in value because if this happens your interest will increase in value as well.

The biggest risk of staking your Ether tokens is associated with the volatility of Ethereum. If Ethereum tokens crash in value, you won’t be able to sell your tokens if Eth 2.0 hasn’t been launched yet. Staking Ethereum is only for investors who see Ethereum as a long-term investment.

Staking Rewards on Coinbase

The rewards for staking your Ethereum tokens on Coinbase is around 7% annually. This rate fluctuates with the number of Ethereum staked on Eth 2.0, so expect this interest to decrease up until Eth 2.0 launches. Once Eth 2.0 replaces the current Ethereum network, validators will earn rewards for transactions on Ethereum’s blockchain.

Also, staking your Ethereum on Coinbase will net you 25% less interest than staking independently. You need 32 Ether tokens to stake your crypto as an independent node, and you can do so on Ethereum software wallets like Argent. If you don’t have 32 Ethereum tokens to stake but still want to earn interest, you can stake any amount of Ether on Coinbase.

How Does Staking Work?

When you stake your Ethereum, you won’t be able to withdraw your cryptocurrency until the launch of Eth 2.0. The launch date hasn’t been set, but the Ethereum foundation is working hard to push out the update as soon as they can. It’s expected that Eth 2.0 mainnet will launch at the end of 2021, but some speculate the upgrade won’t be finished until early 2022.

Staking tokens is a way to validate transactions on a proof-of-stake blockchain. While both Bitcoin and Ethereum currently use proof-of-work to validate transactions through cryptocurrency miners, this process is very inefficient and power-intensive. By staking your Ethereum tokens on Eth 2.0, you’re directly supporting the upgrade to Ethereum’s ecosystem. This upgrade will give Ethereum’s network much more utility, as transactions will be far less expensive and much quicker.

Is Staking Ethereum Profitable?

If the value of Ethereum stays constant or rises, staking Ethereum is a great way to increase your return on investment. Instead of simply holding the asset, you’re able to earn interest that’s paid in Ethereum to accumulate more cryptocurrency. Since Ethereum is a volatile asset, a big risk involved with staking Ethereum tokens on Eth 2.0 is that your investment is no longer liquid. You need to be okay with not being able to sell your investment until Eth 2.0 launches, which may still be 1 year away.

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