Latest Bitcoin News and Insights | Yellow.com

The University of Wyoming is shaking things up in the world of crypto education. They've just rolled out what they're calling the first academic Bitcoin Research Institute (BRI). It's a big deal, folks. The announcement came during the Bitcoin 2024 Conference in Nashville. Dr. Bradley Rettler, an associate professor of Philosophy and author, will be at the helm. Rettler didn't mince words on X. "The BRI aims to produce high-quality peer-reviewed publications about bitcoin from all academic disciplines," he wrote. The institute's got a bone to pick with the current state of bitcoin research. "The state of academic bitcoin research is poor," their website states bluntly. They're not pulling any punches. "Academics, journalists, policymakers, and the public lack access to good research on bitcoin. The Bitcoin Research Institute aims to provide it." Rettler's bringing some serious cred to the table. He's co-authored "Resistance Money: A Philosophical Case for Bitcoin". Molly Zuckerman, president of the Association of Cryptocurrency Journalists and Researchers, called it a "measured thought experiment". The BRI's not messing around. They're bringing in Andrew M. Bailey, lead author of the book, as faculty starting August. Bailey's pumped. "I have long dreamed of building something together; this is a dream come true," he wrote on X. The institute's got big plans. They're looking to create faculty positions and incentivize research. They want to get the young guns fired up about Bitcoin-related projects. But wait, there's more. The BRI's also planning events like book workshops, weekly seminars, and public outreach gigs. Wyoming's been crypto-friendly for a while now. Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis has been waving the crypto flag for years. At the Bitcoin 2024 conference, Lummis went big. She proposed buying 1 million BTC over five years as the nation's reserve. That's no small potatoes. The BRI's website gives props to Wyoming's renewable energy and positive regulatory environment for helping set up shop.

Rootstock, a Bitcoin layer 2 solution, has made a splash. They've verified a SNARK proof on-chain. This could be huge for zero-knowledge proofs on Bitcoin. The verification happened Thursday on Rootstock's mainnet. They'd already nailed it on the testnet a day earlier. Rootstock used BitVMX for this feat. It's their tweaked version of BitVM. BitVM is a computing model. It aims to bring Ethereum-style smart contracts to Bitcoin. SNARK stands for Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge. It's a mouthful, right? Basically, it lets you prove you know something without spilling the beans. This move is a big deal for BitVMX. It shows the system can challenge and validate SNARK verifiers on-chain. Rootstock's team was pretty chuffed. They said in an email, "This breakthrough opens the door for replicating this process with any program compiled to the RISC-V architecture." They're using BitVMX's general-purpose virtual CPU for this. It's some serious tech. The implications could be far-reaching. Zero-knowledge proofs on Bitcoin? That's new territory. It's not just about Bitcoin, though. This could impact the whole blockchain scene. Will other platforms follow suit? Only time will tell. But Rootstock's definitely made waves with this one.

A US senator's push to make Bitcoin a Fed reserve asset has sparked debate. Not everyone is totally happy with the idea because it may be used to help greedy speculators profit from rising BTC prices. For instance, famous banking lawyer Todd Phillips isn't buying it. Senator Cynthia Lummis is set to unveil legislation at the Bitcoin Conference. The bill would require the Federal Reserve to buy and hold Bitcoin as a strategic reserve. Lummis hopes to get Trump's backing if he wins the presidency. But Phillips isn't convinced. He argues Bitcoin lacks the qualities of a proper reserve asset. "It's not like oil," Phillips says. The lawyer claims Bitcoin isn't an input for real-world goods and services. He reckons the move is just to pump Bitcoin's price. "It's simply to require the Fed to buy Bitcoin, sending its price higher for speculators," Phillips states. But crypto bigwigs are hitting back. VanEck's Matthew Sigel challenged Phillips' take. Sigel points out Bitcoin's role in stabilizing renewable energy grids. He also notes intangible assets make up 60% of US GDP. "Bitcoin's $800 billion market cap speaks for itself," Sigel adds.

VanEck, a New York-based asset manager, has released a report with bullish predictions for Bitcoin, far more bullish than anything you have heard before, that's for sure. The firm suggests the cryptocurrency could reach $52 million per coin by 2050. This forecast is based on several assumptions. VanEck's digital assets team foresees Bitcoin becoming a global reserve asset. They also anticipate a decline in current reserve currencies. The report, authored by Matthew Sigel and Patrick Bush, presents two scenarios. The base projection puts Bitcoin at $2.9 million by 2050. The more bullish scenario sees it hitting $52,386,207. Bitcoin currently trades at $64,896. It has risen 95,564% in 11 years. VanEck's predictions represent a massive jump from current levels. "We expect BTC to be widely used in international trade," the report states. It adds that Bitcoin could become "a significant medium of exchange and a valuable store of wealth." The authors argue that increased adoption will drive up demand. "Central banks and long-term investors will want to hold more BTC," they write. This could reduce the available supply, pushing prices higher. In other words, Satoshi Nakamoto was absolutely right about scarcity as the main tool to secure Bitcoin's ability to survive and prosper. VanEck's base projection assumes 2.5% of central bank assets will be held in Bitcoin. This scenario factors in world GDP and current growth projections. The $52 million prediction is based on even wider Bitcoin adoption. It assumes increased use in global trade and reduced circulation. However, the report comes with a caveat. It stresses the need for improved scaling networks. "If Bitcoin cannot become an important medium of exchange because adequate scaling is not completed, our core thesis for its meteoric rise will be broken," it warns. Simply put, Layer-2 solutions for Bitcoin are the absolutely mandatory condition for its survival.

John Deaton, a pro-XRP attorney and Republican Senate nominee in Massachusetts, has emerged as a major crypto holder in the political arena. His portfolio is turning heads. Deaton's crypto holdings are no small change. A whopping 80% of his net worth is in Bitcoin or related investments, though it's worth mentioning that the senator has also got stakes in Ethereum, Solana, and XRP (no meme coins, in case you wondered). This news came to light on Wednesday. Fox journalist Eleanor Terret spilled the beans. Deaton's not just a lawyer. He's a Marine vet too. He's been defending cryptocurrencies, especially Ripple, for years. Ripple's been in a nasty legal scrap with the SEC since 2020. The regulator claims they violated securities laws. Deaton's been a key player in Ripple's defense. Now, Ripple's backing Deaton's campaign. They've been throwing serious cash at it. The company's pumped $1 million into a super PAC. It's called the Commonwealth Unity Fund. Legal expert James Murphy, aka "MetaLawMan", set it up. Murphy's got big plans. He wants to see more crypto-friendly faces in Congress. He reckons Deaton's the man for the job. But it's not all smooth sailing. Deaton's up against Elizabeth Warren. She's held her seat since 2013 and isn't a fan of crypto. Warren's got deeper pockets too. Deaton's playing catch-up in the fundraising game. Murphy's not fazed. He told Fox: "We're in it to win it." Meanwhile, XRP's price is feeling the heat. It's down 1.5% in the last 24 hours, trading at $0.615. The whole crypto market's taken a hit, with Bitcoin leading the slide on Thursday.