NFT News Today TheBittimes.com

Binary options gambling website Polymarket is facilitating crypto-denominated bets at a dismal 25% odds rate that Pierre Poilievre will become Canada’s next prime minister on April 28. That’s a stark 73% decline from the pro-Bitcoin candidate’s 93% odds rate just three months ago. Donald Trump is largely responsible for the swap in the race’s odds. Trump tacitly endorsed Mark Carney, telling Fox News TV viewers that “it’s easier to deal with” him versus Poilievre. He added, “the Conservative [Poilievre] that’s running is, stupidly, no friend of mine” who has “said negative things.” Once trading at 12% when Poilievre was trading at 93%, Carney has now advanced to a 76% rate among Polymarket gamblers. Holders of these binary call options will make money if Carney wins re-election as Canada’s prime minister. Binary options competitor Kalshi, a Polymarket competitor, is facilitating trades at a 79% rate, favoring Carney, and a 22% rate against Poilievre.  Like most tw...

The Bank of Canada conducted research to understand how citizens would behave in a hypothetical cashless environment toward CBDC. The research paper analyzes the role of CBDC in the potential cashless scenario. The report showed that most Canadian citizens might have weak incentives to use CBDCs, as they don’t have barriers to accessing financial services. In other words, Canadian society has high levels of financial inclusion. According to the research, 98% of the population has a bank account, 87% holds a credit card, and 90% of rural and urban citizens have access to high-quality internet. The Bank of Canada explained that cash is vital to Canadian society. It added that money is needed as an offline payment method for potential emergencies, such as extreme weather or widespread power outages. The paper stressed the importance of the role of the Bank of Canada as the issuer of the traditional payment method, in other words, cash. Finally, the research paper explained s...