MetaMask, the popular digital wallet with 22 million downloads as of August 2023, will reportedly add Bitcoin, extending the capabilities of the application well beyond its native Ethereum. According to sources speaking to CoinDesk, this move could begin next month, although the timeline could shift. This won’t all happen at once. Bitcoin support will be built incrementally into the extensive list of features that have been released over time.

We have seen the MetaMask team pivot and expand from an app centered around Ethereum and related networks, for example, adding Snaps, JavaScript applications, in September 2023. This was purposeful diversification to cater to a wider range of different blockchain technologies and, therefore, user demands. Adding Bitcoin to the roster of supported assets means that not only does MetaMask broaden its service offers to support a better set of distinguished assets, but it also means that Bitcoin continues its penetration into mainstream awareness even further.

This is going to strengthen the position of MetaMask on the very edge of the development of the best digital wallet service with user experience that has access to innovative features like security alerts, Ethereum validator staking, and tools for airdrops and NFT claims.

CoinDesk

US Congressman Tom Emmer is up in arms while on the floor of the House of Representatives, lambasting Central Bank Digital Currencies as surveillance mechanisms. His most recent address, bolstered by the reintroduction of the “CBDC Anti-surveillance State Act,” emphasizes the need to protect privacy and freedom relating to physical cash and decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Digital currencies are highly concerning to them since they give governments more control over financial transactions and, in turn, more personal freedoms.

He further went on to stress on Bloomberg and posted a video from his official X account, noting the fact that Bitcoin has a nature that will always be open, permissionless, and private on its own. One worrying thing with CBDCs, though, is that it unlocks the ability for governments to monitor and control the economic activity in the same type that authoritarian regimes already do.

Altogether, his moves are the epitome of a high point in the broader debate about the future state of monetary systems in the United States. Emmer’s legislative push against CBDCs is emblematic of a much broader fight for financial sovereignty and privacy, underlining the value of decentralized digital assets over government-controlled currencies. High profile moves in the wider debate over future monetary systems in the United States.

Source

XRP Ledger Services report that the total number of ledgers in the decentralized blockchain technology for the XRP Ledger has surpassed 88 million. Exceeding 88 million accounts represents high growth in increasing significance in the industry of blockchain technologies. The number of accounts has now exceeded 5.2 million, and among them, there are more than 60 billion XRP.

At a point in the center of this blooming ecosystem, the use and popularity of XRPL continue to grow. In Q1 2024 alone, on-chain transactions of XRPL increased by 108%, with average costs of transactions decreasing by 45%, in a display of good user engagement and efficiency.

This milestone in numbers means nothing really; the feeling of trust and reliability that users have placed in XRPL is beyond bounds. It operates using a consensus algorithm, updated every few seconds by validators, making sure that recording of transactions is sealed and in agreement at all times. This, therefore, cements its stand and leads in digital finance.

XRP Ledger Services