• Elon Musk’s plan to integrate a payment system into Twitter is advancing, with a small team working on logistics and seeking regulatory approvals and registrations.
• The payment system will initially handle fiat currencies, with plans to add cryptocurrencies later.
• Before Musk took over Twitter, former CEO Jack Dorsey had already introduced a beta crypto tipping service and NFT features in 2021.

Elon Musk’s vision for a payment system integrated into Twitter is quickly taking shape, with the social media giant beginning the process of regulatory approvals and registrations. To help make this a reality, Musk has appointed Esther Crawford as the CEO of Twitter Payments, a small team tasked with building the necessary infrastructure.

The payment system will initially handle fiat currencies, with plans to add cryptocurrencies later. Musk had mentioned this possibility during an all-hands meeting with Twitter staff in mid-June 2022. “I think it would make sense to integrate payments into Twitter so that it’s easy to send money back and forth, and fiat currency as well as crypto — essentially, whatever somebody would find useful,” he had said.

Before Musk took over Twitter, former CEO Jack Dorsey had already introduced a beta crypto tipping service and NFT features in 2021, in partnership with payments giant Stripe. This move highlighted the company’s interest in the crypto and blockchain world.

Twitter has already taken steps to make Musk’s vision a reality. In addition to applying for financial licenses in several states, the company is also working with relevant financial bodies to ensure compliance with global payment regulations.

As a result, Twitter users may soon be able to send and receive payments in fiat currency and cryptocurrencies alike. This will open up a whole new world of possibilities for Twitter, allowing it to become a hub for online payments, and potentially allowing it to compete with the likes of PayPal, Apple Pay, and other payment services.

• Economist Mohamed El-Erian predicts that inflation will become „sticky“ in midyear, around 4%, despite the Federal Reserve’s attempts to bring it down to 2%.
• The Fed has raised rates seven times since last year and inflation has decreased since reaching double digits in October and November 2022.
• JLL CEO Christian Ulbrich has suggested that 5% may become the new 2%, meaning inflation will persistently remain around 5%.

Despite the Federal Reserve’s attempts to bring inflation levels down to its 2% goal, economist Mohamed El-Erian of the University of Cambridge believes otherwise. El-Erian predicts that inflation will become “sticky” in midyear, around 4%.

The Federal Reserve, headed by its 16th chair Jerome Powell, has been using its monetary tightening policy and interest rate hikes to reduce inflation. Since last year, the Fed has raised rates seven times, with increases happening on a monthly basis. Inflation in the U.S. has slowly decreased since it approached double digits in October and November 2022.

At the 2023 World Economic Forum event in Davos, last week, JLL CEO Christian Ulbrich, among other peers, suggested that 5% may become the new 2%. Ulbrich told the Financial Times that inflation will persistently remain around 5%, and this is something investors and market participants should take into consideration.

El-Erian, president of Queens’ College at the University of Cambridge, agrees with the idea that inflation will be higher than the Federal Reserve’s goal. He stated on January 17 that inflation “may become ‘sticky’ at a higher level than currently anticipated.”

With the Federal Reserve’s efforts to bring inflation down to its 2% goal, investors and market participants are closely monitoring inflation levels. This is especially true as the annual inflation rate dropped to 6.5% in December 2022. While many experts predict it will decrease further, El-Erian and Ulbrich believe inflation will remain at a higher level than what the Federal Reserve hopes for.

• Bitcoin’s mining difficulty printed a record increase on Jan. 15, 2023, rising 10.26% to 37.73 trillion at block height 772,128, making it the highest difficulty rating on the Bitcoin blockchain.
• The difficulty increase surpasses all but one of the difficulty increases from last year, with the largest difficulty increase taking place on Oct. 10, 2022, at block height 758,016, when it rose by 13.55%.
• Bitcoin’s price has climbed 22.7% higher in the last seven days, which is beneficial to Bitcoin miners, however the 10.26% difficulty increase will make profits a lot tighter.

On Jan. 15, 2023, the Bitcoin network experienced a difficulty retarget at 4:11 p.m. Eastern time, at block height 772,128, resulting in an increase of 10.26%. This brought the network’s difficulty to an all-time high of 37.73 trillion, making it exceptionally difficult to find a valid Bitcoin block and add it to the blockchain. This difficulty rating surpassed the previous record of 36.76 trillion, which was set on Nov. 6, 2022. The difficulty increase also outpaced all but one increase from all of 2022, with the largest difficulty increase taking place on Oct. 10, 2022, at block height 758,016, when it rose by 13.55%.

At 8:15 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023, approximately 286.36 exahash per second (EH/s) of hashrate was dedicated to the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain. This is a significant increase from the beginning of the year when the network’s hash rate reached an all-time high of 361.20 exahash per second (EH/s) on Jan. 6, 2023, at block height 770,709.

The increase in difficulty comes as the price of Bitcoin has seen a surge in the past week, climbing 22.7% higher. This is beneficial to miners, however the 10.26% difficulty increase will make profits a lot tighter. Despite this, miners are still continuing to dedicate their hashrate to the network, showing that the mining industry is still very much alive, and the Bitcoin network remains secure.

• Gold prices have jumped 2.36% against the dollar in the first week of the new year.
• Central bank demand and ongoing geopolitical tensions are driving gold’s ascent in 2023.
• Experts believe the yellow metal is set to shine this year and are watching central bank gold purchases with particular interest.

Gold prices have surged in the first week of the new year, with the precious metal jumping 2.36% against the US dollar. This is a continuation of the upward trend seen since November 3, when gold rose 14.55% and silver increased 22.31% against the greenback. This surge in demand has prompted experts to predict record highs for gold in 2023.

According to the head of metals strategy at MKS Pamp Group, there is a “decent amount of bullish ‚pent-up‘ demand that has been carried over from last year” for gold. This demand is being driven by several factors, including central bank purchases and ongoing geopolitical tensions. Central banks around the world, particularly in China, Turkey, and India, have been buying gold at a record pace. This trend has been going on for the past 13 consecutive years, but recently the pace has accelerated.

This central bank demand, combined with the geopolitical unrest, have caused a “Gold Mining Bull” to believe that the yellow metal will perform better in 2023. The author of the two-part series argues that gold is “set to shine” this year and is paying particularly close attention to central bank gold purchases. They are increasing their gold reserves in order to diversify their portfolios and hedge against inflation.

With gold prices continuing to rise, investors are eagerly awaiting to see how the precious metal will perform in the coming months. Experts are hopeful that the bull market will continue, and the precious metal will reach record highs in 2023.

• The Mexican central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital peso, is unlikely to be ready by 2024, as was announced back in 2021 by the Mexican government.
• Representatives from Banxico, the central bank of Mexico, stated the development of the currency was still in its initial stages, and there is still no date set for its launch.
• On the possible date of issuance of the digital peso, Banxico stated that the result of this initial phase entails the preparation of a budget that is currently being determined, and will in turn allow establishing a probable date on which said CBDC will be available.

The Mexican government announced the development of its own digital peso, or CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) back in December 2021, with the launch planned for circa 2024. However, the timeline for the launch of the digital peso is becoming increasingly unlikely, according to new information coming from Banxico, the central bank of the country.

Banxico has stated that the development of the currency is still in its initial stages, and there is still no date set for its launch. The general directorate of payment systems and market infrastructures, the division of the bank tasked with its construction, is currently determining the requirements for its issuance, and thus a budget is being prepared that will allow them to establish a probable date on which said CBDC will be available.

In April, the governor of Banxico, Victoria Rodríguez Ceja, stated that the entire development cycle would take the institution around three years. This, however, contradicts the statement made on Dec. 29, 2021, when the government had announced the launch of the digital peso would occur circa 2024. In addition, more than $500,000 were used for the development of this currency during 2022, allocated from funds provided by Banxico.

The Mexican CBDC is a step forward in the development of digital currencies, as it is the first to be issued by a central bank. This will enable the Mexican government to have more control over the currency, as well as make it easier for individuals to make payments, transfers and investments in the currency. In addition, it will make it easier for the government to track financial activities.

The Mexican CBDC is seen as a major step forward in the development of digital currencies, and it is expected that other countries will soon follow in Mexico’s footsteps. It will be interesting to see how the development of this currency progresses, and when it will be ready for use.