Rio de Janeiro to invest 1% of reserves in Bitcoin

by Team Luno

What

The Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro announced that 1% of its treasury reserves will be stored in Bitcoin

Why

It’s part of a bigger move by the city to introduce cryptocurrency into its financial system

What next

Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes also revealed that citizens may soon be able to pay property taxes in Bitcoin

The story

Block has announced it is planning to improve Bitcoin mining capabilities by creating a new product that makes Bitcoin mining “fully decentralised and permissionless.”

Currently Bitcoin requires expensive hardware that prices out many people from participating in Bitcoin mining. Block proposes creating new ASIC’s — Bitcoin mining machines — that are more efficient. 

The project will be open source, with Templeton saying that better machines are not just about Bitcoin, but are a crucial component to a more decentralised and permissionless future.