CoinGeek Pulse Episode 18: World’s first CBDC, PayPal’s HODL scheme and Pumpkin Man Craig

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GbaonoZ5fM

This week in CoinGeek Pulse, we are running down the top stories that are making waves in the Bitcoin and blockchain industry.

The world’s first central bank digital currency (CBDC) has finally launched in The Bahamas—overtaking economic giants like the United States and China.

The small Caribbean nation officially deployed the historic Sand Dollar, a state-backed virtual currency circulating across financial institutions, businesses and consumers in the country. With its own CBDC, the country seeks to “advance more inclusive access to regulated payments and other financial services for under-serviced communities and socio-economic groups.”

The Central Bank of Bahamas (CBOB) also aims to reduce cost and increase service efficiency across the nation with Sand Dollar. CBOB implemented Sand Dollar after just over two years of pilot tests.

From one groundbreaking moment in history to the next, PayPal officially entered the digital currency market changing the game. But did it really?

Through its partnership with regulated financial institution Paxos, PayPal now allows customers to buy, hold and sell virtual currencies using their PayPal accounts. Its wallet, however, cannot accept external deposits. It also does not support withdrawals to external wallets or facilitate digital currency transfers.

Soon, users can convert their digital currencies to fiat currencies to spend at PayPal’s merchants. This will roll out in 2021.

PayPal announced that merchants would have no additional integrations or fees. This also means that PayPal transaction fees still apply.

Some Twitter users weren’t pleased by the news. User @007_xia commented that it’s just another “HODL scheme.” HODL is the term used to hold bitcoin until its value massively increases magically.

https://twitter.com/007_Xia/status/1320746352964415491?s=20

User @1Bitdaddy tweeted, “Paypal running on BitCoin aka BSV with fees reduced drastically to benefit all would’ve been BIG news.

It does state that PayPal transaction fees still apply, add that to the already high BTC fees. What's the point? No savings, no new efficiencies, no benefits to either party.

PayPal running on BitCoin aka BSV with fees reduced drastically to benefit all would've been BIG news.

— ₿itĐaddy (@1BitDaddy) October 21, 2020

Bitcoin SV allows microtransactions with a minimal fee. Its infrastructure is also on its way to handle nanotransactions in the future, which payments giant PayPal’s hundred millions of users can benefit from.

This week, the Bitcoin white paper turns 12. Titled, “Bitcoin: A Peer to Peer Electronic Cash System,” the white paper was first published on October 31, 2008, by Dr. Craig Wright using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.

Around this time last year, Wright’s infamous “Pumpkin Man Craig” meme was born.

He was speaking onstage at a forum in London when audience member Andrea Lazar became accidentally famous by yelling at Craig in rage and fury, “That’s exactly what you want! You are a mole, trying to crash Bitcoin. Farmer Craig! Pumpkin man Craig! Go back to your farm, and your tomatoes, and grow a superfarm.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OekM65zPbc&feature=youtu.be

The video went viral and shortly after, the Bitcoin social media erupted with memes of Angry Lazar and Pumpkin Man Craig. 

Bitcoin Association Founding President Jimmy Nguyen even joined the fun and created a competition for the Best Pumpkin Man meme. A Twitter search with the hashtag #PumpkinManCraig shows the entire collection. 

Enjoy looking back at this fun and crazy time in the history of Bitcoin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHo79k6rv3M&feature=youtu.be