Connect with us

Uncategorized

Business Spend Software Market is Probable to Influence the Value of USD 31,398.60 Million by 2029, Size, Share, Trends, Growth and Competitive Outlook

Business Spend Software Market is Probable to Influence the Value of USD 31,398.60 Million by 2029, Size, Share, Trends, Growth and Competitive Outlook
PR Newswire
LONDON, March 8, 2023

 LONDON, March 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Data Bridge Market rese…

Published

on

Business Spend Software Market is Probable to Influence the Value of USD 31,398.60 Million by 2029, Size, Share, Trends, Growth and Competitive Outlook

PR Newswire

 LONDON, March 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Data Bridge Market research has published a report on the "Business Spend Software Market" which analyzes major regions including USA, Europe, China, Japan, India, South East Asia, and beyond. The report offers a detailed analysis of the market's opportunities and risks, and provides decision-makers with valuable strategic and tactical support. Business Spend Software Market research report gives critical information about the market and business landscape. It suggests how the company is perceived by the target customers and clients that are desired to reach. The report helps understand how to connect with customers, how to stack up against the competition, and how to plan next steps. It plays an important role in the process of developing products and services, bringing them to the marketplace, and marketing them to consumers. For many businesses, Business Spend Software Market report acts as a key component in developing marketing strategy by providing a fact-based foundation for estimating sales and profitability.

Data Bridge Market Research analyses that the business spend software market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.5% during the forecast period and at a USD 14,125.77 million in 2021 and is further estimated to reach USD 31,398.60 million by 2029. The market report curated by the Data Bridge Market Research team includes in-depth expert analysis, import/export analysis, pricing analysis, production consumption analysis, and pestle analysis.

Receive a sample PDF copy of Business Spend Software Market Research for evaluation @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-business-spend-software-market

Business spend software systems gives a clear picture of procurement data and gives an access to the organised workflows that help you find the best methods to save money. The business spend software solution can successfully handle the supply chain, procurement, invoice, contracts, and bids procedures from beginning to end.

The use of business spend software applications to speed approval and request processes is becoming increasingly common, allowing firms to operate remotely while saving money and time. Its numerous applications in areas such as supply chain and logistics, BFSI, manufacturing, and retail are altering market dynamics. It gives businesses a competitive advantage by allowing them to better utilise and consume spend data.

Top Leading Key Players of Business Spend Software Market:

  • Altergy. (US)
  • SAP SE (Germany)
  • Coupa Software Inc. (US)
  • Procurify (Canada)
  • IBM (US)
  • TRADOGRAM. (Canada)
  • Fraxion. (US)
  • SutiSoft, Inc. (India)
  • Sievo (Finland)
  • GEP (US)
  • Empronc Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (India)
  • Sage Intacct, Inc. (US)
  • Touchstone Group Plc (UK)

Why to consider this report?

  • · The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the Business Spend Software Industry. The report includes in-depth qualitative analysis, verifiable data from authentic sources, and projections about market size. The projections are calculated using proven research methodologies.
  • · The report has been compiled through extensive primary and secondary research. The primary research is done through interviews, surveys, and observation of renowned personnel in the industry.
  • · The report includes an in-depth market analysis using Porter's 5 forces model.
  • · The report also includes the regulatory scenario in the industry, which will help you make a well-informed decision. The report discusses major regulatory bodies and major rules and regulations imposed on this sector across various geographies.
  • · The report also contains the competitive analysis using Positioning Quadrants, the analyst's competitive positioning tool.

Obtain the Entire PDF Research Report @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/checkout/buy/enterprise/global-business-spend-software-market

Opportunities

In addition, the growing internet and smartphone penetration is further estimated to provide potential opportunities for the growth of the business spend software market in the coming years.

Highlights following key factors:

Business description – A detailed description of the company's operations and business divisions

Corporate strategy – Analyst's summarization of the company's business strategy

SWOT Analysis – A detailed analysis of the company's strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats

Company history – Progression of key events associated with the company

Major products and services – A list of major products, services and brands of the company

Key competitors – A list of key competitors to the company

Important locations and subsidiaries – A list and contact details of key locations and subsidiaries of the company

Detailed financial ratios for the past five years – The latest financial ratios derived from the annual financial statements published by the company with 5 years history

Business Spend Software Market Drivers

  • Rise in the Adoption of Cloud-Based Business Spend Software

Organizations are increasingly using cloud-based business spend software solutions to help drive the development which will further accelerate the growth of the market.

  • Incorporation of Advanced Technologies

The integration of modern technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, and machine learning (ML) with business expenditure software is expected to increase demand of the market.

  • Product Launches to Expand its Product Portfolio

To grow their product range, key companies in this market are focused on new product launches. For Instance, in May 2020, Paramount WorkPlace announced "WorkPlace Travel," a new travel management service. The goal is to provide corporations and midmarket organisations with sophisticated, easy-to-use, and cost-effective travel management systems which is further anticipated to propel the growth of the market.

Business Spend Software Market Report Answers the Following Questions:

  • How much revenue will the Business Spend Software market generate by the end of the forecast period?
  • Which market segment is expected to have the maximum market share?
  • What are the influencing factors and their impact on the Business Spend Software market?
  • Which regions are currently contributing the maximum share of the overall Business Spend Software market?
  • What indicators are likely to stimulate the Business Spend Software market?
  • What are the main strategies of the major players in the Business Spend Software market to expand their geographic presence?
  • What are the main advances in the Business Spend Software market?
  • How do regulatory standards affect the Business Spend Software market?

To Gain More Insights About This Market Analysis, Visit @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-business-spend-software-market

Business Spend Software Market Segmentations:

Solution

Enterprises

  • Large
  • SMEs

Deployment

  • On-Cloud
  • On-Premise

Type

  • Indirect Spending
  • Direct Spending
  • MRO Spending

End Use

  • BFSI, IT and Telecom
  • Energy
  • Healthcare
  • Manufacturing

Business Spend Software Market Country Level Analysis

The countries covered in the Business Spend Software Market report are U.S., Canada, and Mexico in North America, Brazil, Argentina, and the rest of South America as part of South America, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe in Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific (APAC)  in the Asia-Pacific (APAC), Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa (MEA) as a part of the Middle East and Africa (MEA)

The country section of the report also provides individual market impacting factors and changes in regulation in the market domestically that impacts the current and future trends of the market. Data points like down-stream and upstream value chain analysis, technical trends and porter's five forces analysis, case studies are some of the pointers used to forecast the market scenario for individual countries. Also, the presence and availability of global brands and their challenges faced due to large or scarce competition from local and domestic brands, impact of domestic tariffs and trade routes are considered while providing forecast analysis of the country data.

Table of Content

1.  Introduction

2.  Market Segmentation

3.  Executive Summary

4.  Premium Insights

5.  Market Overview

6.  Global Business Spend Software Market, By Solution

7.  Global Business Spend Software Market, By Enterprises

8.  Global Business Spend Software Market, By Deployment

9.  Global Business Spend Software Market, By Type

10.  Global Business Spend Software Market, By End Use

11.  Global Business Spend Software Market, By Region

12.  Global Business Spend Software Market, Company Landscape

13.  SWOT Analysis

14.  Company Profile

15.  Questionnaire

16.  Related Reports

To Examine the Complete Table of Contents, Click here @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-business-spend-software-market

Browse Related Reports:

Healthcare Contract Management Software Market, By Service (Supplier Discovery, Sourcing Decision-Making, Workflow and Process Automation, Document Management, Agreements, Contract Lifecycle Management), End User (Hospitals, Healthcare Providers, Group Practices, Pharmaceutical Companies, Physicians, Medical Device Manufacturers, Others) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-healthcare-contract-management-software-market

Spend Analytics Market, By Application (Financial Management, Risk Management, Governance and Compliance Management, Supplier Sourcing and Performance Management, Demand and supply forecasting, Others), Component (Software, Services), Analytics Type (Predictive, Prescriptive, Descriptive), Business Function (Finance, Information Technology (IT), Marketing, Procurement), Deployment Model (On-premises, Cloud), Organization Size (Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Large Enterprises), Industry Vertical (Manufacturing, Retail and e-Commerce, Government and Defense, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Telecommunications and IT, Energy and Utilities, Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI), Others), Country https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-spend-analytics-market

Digital Transformation in Spending Market, By Technology (Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Analytics, Mobility/Social Media, Cybersecurity, Internet of Things, Others), Service (Professional Services, Implementation and Integration), Deployment Type (Cloud, On-Premises), Organization Size (Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Large Enterprises), Vertical (Banking, Financial Services and Insurance, IT and Telecom, Manufacturing, Education, Retail, Media and Entertainment, Government, Others) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-digital-transformation-in-spending-market

Suspended Particle Devices (SPD) for Smart Window Market, By Type (OLED Glass, Self-Dimming Window, Self-Repairing), Application (Architectural and Construction, Transportation, Automotive, Aircraft, Marine, Consumer Goods, Power Generation), Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-suspended-particle-devices-spd-for-smart-window-market

Remote Learning Technology Spending Market By Solution (Software and Services), Learning Mode (Instructor-Led Training and Learning, Self-Paced eLearning, Blended/ Hybrid eLearning, Social Learning, Collaborative Learning and Simulation Learning), End Users (Individual, Government Organizations and Academic Institutions), Country https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-remote-learning-technology-spending-market

Home Office Spending Market, By Solution (Tools and Services), Deployment (Cloud and On-Premises), Application (Business Productivity, Information Security, Enterprise Communication and Others), Country https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-home-office-spending-market

Europe Travel and Expense Management Software Market, By Deployment Model (On-Premise, Cloud), Organization Size (Medium Enterprises, Large Enterprises), Industry (Defence, Government) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/europe-travel-and-expense-management-software-market

Asia-Pacific Travel and Expense Management Software Market, By Deployment Model (On-Premise, Cloud), Organization Size (Medium Enterprises, Large Enterprises), Industry (Defence, Government) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/asia-pacific-travel-and-expense-management-software-market

Middle East and Africa Travel and Expense Management Software Market, By Deployment Model (On-Premise, Cloud), Organization Size (Medium Enterprises, Large Enterprises), Industry (Defence, Government, Others) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/middle-east-and-africa-travel-and-expense-management-software-market

North America Travel and Expense Management Software Market, By Deployment Model (On-Premise, Cloud), Organization Size (Medium Enterprises, Large Enterprises), Industry (Defence, Government) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/north-america-travel-and-expense-management-software-market

Business Software and Service Market, By Service (Consulting, Managed Services, Support and Maintenance), Software (Finance, Human Resource, Sales and Marketing, Supply Chain, Others), Deployment (Cloud, On-Premise), End User (Aerospace and Defense, BFSI, Government, Healthcare, IT and Telecom, Manufacturing, Retail, Transportation, Others) - Industry Trends and Forecast to 2029: https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-business-software-and-service-market

Travel and Expense Management Software Market, By Deployment Model (On-Premise, Cloud), Organization Size (Medium Enterprises, Large Enterprises), Industry (Defence, Government) - Industry Trends and Forecast to 2029: https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-travel-and-expense-management-software-market

About Data Bridge Market Research, Private Ltd

Data Bridge Market Research is a multinational management consulting firm with offices in India and Canada. As an innovative and neoteric market analysis and advisory company with unmatched durability level and advanced approaches. We are committed to uncover the best consumer prospects and to foster useful knowledge for your company to succeed in the market.

Data Bridge Market Research is a result of sheer wisdom and practice that was conceived and built-in Pune in the year 2015. The company came into existence from the healthcare department with far fewer employees intending to cover the whole market while providing the best class analysis. Later, the company widened its departments, as well as expands their reach by opening a new office in Gurugram location in the year 2018, where a team of highly qualified personnel joins hands for the growth of the company. "Even in the tough times of COVID-19 where the Virus slowed down everything around the world, the dedicated Team of Data Bridge Market Research worked round the clock to provide quality and support to our client base, which also tells about the excellence in our sleeve."

Data Bridge Market Research has over 500 analysts working in different industries. We have catered more than 40% of the fortune 500 companies globally and have a network of more than 5000+ clientele around the globe.

Contact Us 
US: +1 888 387 2818
UK: +44 208 089 1725
Hong Kong: +852 8192 7475
Email – corporatesales@databridgemarketresearch.com

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1011053/Data_Bridge_Market_Research_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/business-spend-software-market-is-probable-to-influence-the-value-of-usd-31-398-60-million-by-2029--size-share-trends-growth-and-competitive-outlook-301764408.html

SOURCE Data Bridge Market Research

Read More

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

Bougie Broke The Financial Reality Behind The Facade

Social media users claiming to be Bougie Broke share pictures of their fancy cars, high-fashion clothing, and selfies in exotic locations and expensive…

Published

on

Social media users claiming to be Bougie Broke share pictures of their fancy cars, high-fashion clothing, and selfies in exotic locations and expensive restaurants. Yet they complain about living paycheck to paycheck and lacking the means to support their lifestyle.

Bougie broke is like “keeping up with the Joneses,” spending beyond one’s means to impress others.

Bougie Broke gives us a glimpse into the financial condition of a growing number of consumers. Since personal consumption represents about two-thirds of economic activity, it’s worth diving into the Bougie Broke fad to appreciate if a large subset of the population can continue to consume at current rates.

The Wealth Divide Disclaimer

Forecasting personal consumption is always tricky, but it has become even more challenging in the post-pandemic era. To appreciate why we share a joke told by Mike Green.

Bill Gates and I walk into the bar…

Bartender: “Wow… a couple of billionaires on average!”

Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and other billionaires make us all much richer, on average. Unfortunately, we can’t use the average to pay our bills.

According to Wikipedia, Bill Gates is one of 756 billionaires living in the United States. Many of these billionaires became much wealthier due to the pandemic as their investment fortunes proliferated.

To appreciate the wealth divide, consider the graph below courtesy of Statista. 1% of the U.S. population holds 30% of the wealth. The wealthiest 10% of households have two-thirds of the wealth. The bottom half of the population accounts for less than 3% of the wealth.

The uber-wealthy grossly distorts consumption and savings data. And, with the sharp increase in their wealth over the past few years, the consumption and savings data are more distorted.

Furthermore, and critical to appreciate, the spending by the wealthy doesn’t fluctuate with the economy. Therefore, the spending of the lower wealth classes drives marginal changes in consumption. As such, the condition of the not-so-wealthy is most important for forecasting changes in consumption. 

Revenge Spending

Deciphering personal data has also become more difficult because our spending habits have changed due to the pandemic.

A great example is revenge spending. Per the New York Times:

Ola Majekodunmi, the founder of All Things Money, a finance site for young adults, explained revenge spending as expenditures meant to make up for “lost time” after an event like the pandemic.

So, between the growing wealth divide and irregular spending habits, let’s quantify personal savings, debt usage, and real wages to appreciate better if Bougie Broke is a mass movement or a silly meme.

The Means To Consume 

Savings, debt, and wages are the three primary sources that give consumers the ability to consume.

Savings

The graph below shows the rollercoaster on which personal savings have been since the pandemic. The savings rate is hovering at the lowest rate since those seen before the 2008 recession. The total amount of personal savings is back to 2017 levels. But, on an inflation-adjusted basis, it’s at 10-year lows. On average, most consumers are drawing down their savings or less. Given that wages are increasing and unemployment is historically low, they must be consuming more.

Now, strip out the savings of the uber-wealthy, and it’s probable that the amount of personal savings for much of the population is negligible. A survey by Payroll.org estimates that 78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck.

personal savings

More on Insufficient Savings

The Fed’s latest, albeit old, Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households from June 2023 claims that over a third of households do not have enough savings to cover an unexpected $400 expense. We venture to guess that number has grown since then. To wit, the number of households with essentially no savings rose 5% from their prior report a year earlier.  

Relatively small, unexpected expenses, such as a car repair or a modest medical bill, can be a hardship for many families. When faced with a hypothetical expense of $400, 63 percent of all adults in 2022 said they would have covered it exclusively using cash, savings, or a credit card paid off at the next statement (referred to, altogether, as “cash or its equivalent”). The remainder said they would have paid by borrowing or selling something or said they would not have been able to cover the expense.

Debt

After periods where consumers drained their existing savings and/or devoted less of their paychecks to savings, they either slowed their consumption patterns or borrowed to keep them up. Currently, it seems like many are choosing the latter option. Consumer borrowing is accelerating at a quicker pace than it was before the pandemic. 

The first graph below shows outstanding credit card debt fell during the pandemic as the economy cratered. However, after multiple stimulus checks and broad-based economic recovery, consumer confidence rose, and with it, credit card balances surged.

The current trend is steeper than the pre-pandemic trend. Some may be a catch-up, but the current rate is unsustainable. Consequently, borrowing will likely slow down to its pre-pandemic trend or even below it as consumers deal with higher credit card balances and 20+% interest rates on the debt.

credit card debt

The second graph shows that since 2022, credit card balances have grown faster than our incomes. Like the first graph, the credit usage versus income trend is unsustainable, especially with current interest rates.

consumer loans credit cards and wages

With many consumers maxing out their credit cards, is it any wonder buy-now-pay-later loans (BNPL) are increasing rapidly?

Insider Intelligence believes that 79 million Americans, or a quarter of those over 18 years old, use BNPL. Lending Tree claims that “nearly 1 in 3 consumers (31%) say they’re at least considering using a buy now, pay later (BNPL) loan this month.”More telling, according to their survey, only 52% of those asked are confident they can pay off their BNPL loan without missing a payment!

Wage Growth

Wages have been growing above trend since the pandemic. Since 2022, the average annual growth in compensation has been 6.28%. Higher incomes support more consumption, but higher prices reduce the amount of goods or services one can buy. Over the same period, real compensation has grown by less than half a percent annually. The average real compensation growth was 2.30% during the three years before the pandemic.

In other words, compensation is just keeping up with inflation instead of outpacing it and providing consumers with the ability to consume, save, or pay down debt.

It’s All About Employment

The unemployment rate is 3.9%, up slightly from recent lows but still among the lowest rates in the last seventy-five years.

the unemployment rate

The uptick in credit card usage, decline in savings, and the savings rate argue that consumers are slowly running out of room to keep consuming at their current pace.

However, the most significant means by which we consume is income. If the unemployment rate stays low, consumption may moderate. But, if the recent uptick in unemployment continues, a recession is extremely likely, as we have seen every time it turned higher.

It’s not just those losing jobs that consume less. Of greater impact is a loss of confidence by those employed when they see friends or neighbors being laid off.   

Accordingly, the labor market is probably the most important leading indicator of consumption and of the ability of the Bougie Broke to continue to be Bougie instead of flat-out broke!

Summary

There are always consumers living above their means. This is often harmless until their means decline or disappear. The Bougie Broke meme and the ability social media gives consumers to flaunt their “wealth” is a new medium for an age-old message.

Diving into the data, it argues that consumption will likely slow in the coming months. Such would allow some consumers to save and whittle down their debt. That situation would be healthy and unlikely to cause a recession.

The potential for the unemployment rate to continue higher is of much greater concern. The combination of a higher unemployment rate and strapped consumers could accentuate a recession.

The post Bougie Broke The Financial Reality Behind The Facade appeared first on RIA.

Read More

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

Bitcoin on Wheels: The Story of Bitcoinetas

Meet the Bitcoinetas, a fleet of transformative vehicles on a mission to spread the bitcoin message everywhere they go. From Argentina to South Africa,…

Published

on

You may have seen that picture of Michael Saylor in a bitcoin-branded van, with a cheerful guy right next to the car door. This one:

Ariel Aguilar and La Bitcoineta European Edition at BTC Prague.

That car is the Bitcoineta European Edition, and the cheerful guy is Ariel Aguilar. Ariel is part of the European Bitcoineta team, and has previously driven another similar car in Argentina. In fact, there are currently five cars around the world that carry the name Bitcoineta (in some cases preceded with the Spanish definite article “La”).

Argentina: the original La Bitcoineta

The story of Bitcoinetas begins with the birth of 'La Bitcoineta' in Argentina, back in 2017. Inspired by the vibrancy of the South American Bitcoin community, the original Bitcoineta was conceived after an annual Latin American Conference (Labitconf), where the visionaries behind it recognized a unique opportunity to promote Bitcoin education in remote areas. Armed with a bright orange Bitcoin-themed exterior and a mission to bridge the gap in financial literacy, La Bitcoineta embarked on a journey to bring awareness of Bitcoin's potential benefits to villages and towns that often remained untouched by mainstream financial education initiatives. Operated by a team of dedicated volunteers, it was more than just a car; it was a symbol of hope and empowerment for those living on the fringes of financial inclusion.

The concept drawing for La Bitcoineta from December 2017.

Ariel was part of that initial Argentinian Bitcoineta team, and spent weeks on the road when the car became a reality. The original dream to bring bitcoin education even to remote areas within Argentina and other South American countries came true, and the La Bitcoineta team took part in dozens of local bitcoin meetups in the subsequent years.

The original La Bitcoineta from Argentina.

One major hiccup came in late 2018, when the car was crashed into while parked in Puerto Madryn. The car was pretty much destroyed, but since the team was possessed by a honey badger spirit, nothing could stop them from keeping true to their mission. It is a testament to the determination and resilience of the Argentinian team that the car was quickly restored and returned on its orange-pilling quest soon after.

Argentinian Bitcoineta after a major accident (no-one got hurt); the car was restored shortly after.

Over the more than 5 years that the Argentinian Bitcoineta has been running, it has traveled more than 80,000 kilometers - and as we’ll see further, it inspired multiple similar initiatives around the world.

Follow La Bitcoineta’s journey:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/labitcoineta

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bitcoineta/

El Salvador: Bitcoin Beach

In early 2021, the president of El Salvador passed the Bitcoin Law, making bitcoin legal tender in the country. The Labitconf team decided to celebrate this major step forward in bitcoin adoption by hosting the annual conference in San Salvador, the capital city of El Salvador. And correspondingly, the Argentinian Bitcoineta team made plans for a bold 7000-kilometer road trip to visit the Bitcoin country with the iconic Bitcoin car.

However, it proved to be impossible to cross so many borders separating Argentina and Salvador, since many governments were still imposing travel restrictions due to a Covid pandemic. So two weeks before the November event, the Labitconf team decided to fund a second Bitcoineta directly in El Salvador, as part of the Bitcoin Beach circular economy. Thus the second Bitcoineta was born.

Salvadoran’s Bitcoineta operates in the El Zonte region, where the Bitcoin Beach circular economy is located.

The eye-catching Volkswagen minibus has been donated to the Bitcoin Beach team, which uses the car for the needs of its circular economy based in El Zonte.

Follow Bitcoin Beach:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Bitcoinbeach

South Africa: Bitcoin Ekasi

Late 2021 saw one other major development in terms of grassroots bitcoin adoption. On the other side of the planet, in South Africa, Hermann Vivier initiated the Bitcoin Ekasi project. “Ekasi” is a colloquial term for a township, and a township in the South African context is an underdeveloped urban area with a predominantly black population, a remnant of the segregationist apartheid regime. Bitcoin Ekasi emerged as an attempt to introduce bitcoin into the economy of the JCC Camp township located in Mossel Bay, and has gained a lot of success on that front.

Bitcoin Ekasi was in large part inspired by the success of the Bitcoin Beach circular economy back in El Salvador, and the respect was mutual. The Bitcoin Beach team thus decided to pass on the favor they received from the Argentinian Bitcoineta team, and provided funds to Bitcoin Ekasi for them to build a Bitcoineta of their own.

Bitcoin Ekasi’s Bitcoineta as seen at the Adopting Bitcoin Cape Town conference.
Bitcoin Ekasi’s Bitcoineta as seen at the Adopting Bitcoin Cape Town conference. Hermann Vivier is seen in the background.
South African Bitcoineta serves the needs of Bitcoin Ekasi, a local bitcoin circular economy in the JCC Camp township.

Bitcoin Ekasi emerged as a sister organization of Surfer Kids, a non-profit organization with a mission to empower marginalized youths through surfing. The Ekasi Bitcoineta thus partially serves as a means to get the kids to visit various surfer competitions in South Africa. A major highlight in this regard was when the kids got to meet Jordy Smith, one of the most successful South African surfers worldwide.

Coincidentally, South African surfers present an intriguing demographic for understanding Bitcoin due to their unique circumstances and needs. To make it as a professional surfer, the athletes need to attend competitions abroad; but since South Africa has tight currency controls in place, it is often a headache to send money abroad for travel and competition expenses. The borderless nature of Bitcoin offers a solution to these constraints, providing surfers with an alternative means of moving funds across borders without any obstacles.

Photo taken at the South African Junior Surfing Championships 2023. Back row, left to right:

Mbasa, Chuma, Jordy Smith, Sandiso. Front, left to right: Owethu, Sibulele.

To find out more about Bitcoineta South Africa and the non-profit endeavors it serves, watch Lekker Feeling, a documentary by Aubrey Strobel:

Follow Bitcoin Ekasi:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BitcoinEkasi

Fundraiser: https://support.bitcoinekasi.com/

Europe: Bitcoineta Europa

The European Bitcoineta started its journey in early 2023, with Ariel Aguilar being one of the main catalysts behind the idea. Unlike its predecessors in El Salvador and South Africa, the European Bitcoineta was not funded by a previous team but instead secured support from individual donors, reflecting a grassroots approach to spreading financial literacy.

European Bitcoineta sports a hard-to-overlook bitcoin logo along with the message “Bitcoin is Work. Bitcoin is Time. Bitcoin is Hope.”

The European Bitcoineta is a Mercedes box van adorned with a prominent Bitcoin logo and inspiring messages, and serves as a mobile hub for education and discussion at numerous European Bitcoin conferences and local meetups. Inside its spacious interior, both notable bitcoiners and bitcoin plebs share their insights on the walls, fostering a sense of camaraderie and collaboration.

Inside the European Bitcoineta, one can find the wall of fame, where visitors can read messages from prominent bitcoiners such as Michael Saylor, Uncle Rockstar, Javier Bastardo, Hodlonaut, and many others.
On the “pleb wall”, any bitcoiner can share their message (as long as space permits).

Follow Bitcoineta Europa’s journey:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BitcoinetaEU

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bitcoinetaeu/

Ghana: Bitcoineta West Africa

Embed: https://youtu.be/8oWgIU17aIY?si=hrsKmMIA7lI6jX4k

Introduced in December 2023 at the Africa Bitcoin Conference in Ghana, the fifth Bitcoineta was donated to the Ghanaian Bitcoin Cowries educational initiative as part of the Trezor Academy program.

Bitcoineta West Africa was launched in December 2023 at the Africa Bitcoin Conference. Among its elements, it bears the motto of the Trezor Academy initiative: Bitcoin. Education. Freedom.

Bitcoineta West Africa was funded by the proceeds from the bitcoin-only limited edition Trezor device, which was sold out within one day of its launch at the Bitcoin Amsterdam conference.

With plans for an extensive tour spanning Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, and potentially other countries within the ECOWAS political and economic union, Bitcoineta West Africa embodies the spirit of collaboration and solidarity in driving Bitcoin adoption and financial inclusion throughout the Global South.

Bitcoineta West Africa surrounded by a group of enthusiastic bitcoiners at the Black Star Square, Accra, Ghana.

Follow Bitcoineta West Africa’s journey:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BitcoinetaWA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bitcoinetawa/

All the Bitcoineta cars around the world share one overarching mission: to empower their local communities through bitcoin education, and thus improve the lives of common people that might have a strong need for bitcoin without being currently aware of such need. As they continue to traverse borders and break down barriers, Bitcoinetas serve as a reminder of the power of grassroots initiatives and the importance of financial education in shaping a more inclusive future. The tradition of Bitcoinetas will continue to flourish, and in the years to come we will hopefully encounter a brazenly decorated bitcoin car everywhere we go.

If the inspiring stories of Bitcoinetas have ignited a passion within you to make a difference in your community, we encourage you to take action! Reach out to one of the existing Bitcoineta teams for guidance, support, and inspiration on how to start your own initiative. Whether you're interested in spreading Bitcoin education, promoting financial literacy, or fostering empowerment in underserved areas, the Bitcoineta community is here to help you every step of the way. Together, we will orange pill the world!

This is a guest post by Josef Tetek. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

Read More

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

Digital Currency And Gold As Speculative Warnings

Over the last few years, digital currencies and gold have become decent barometers of speculative investor appetite. Such isn’t surprising given the evolution…

Published

on

Over the last few years, digital currencies and gold have become decent barometers of speculative investor appetite. Such isn’t surprising given the evolution of the market into a “casino” following the pandemic, where retail traders have increased their speculative appetites.

“Such is unsurprising, given that retail investors often fall victim to the psychological behavior of the “fear of missing out.” The chart below shows the “dumb money index” versus the S&P 500. Once again, retail investors are very long equities relative to the institutional players ascribed to being the “smart money.””

“The difference between “smart” and “dumb money” investors shows that, more often than not, the “dumb money” invests near market tops and sells near market bottoms.”

Net Smart Dumb Money vs Market

That enthusiasm has increased sharply since last November as stocks surged in hopes that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates. As noted by Sentiment Trader:

“Over the past 18 weeks, the straight-up rally has moved us to an interesting juncture in the Sentiment Cycle. For the past few weeks, the S&P 500 has demonstrated a high positive correlation to the ‘Enthusiasm’ part of the cycle and a highly negative correlation to the ‘Panic’ phase.”

Investor Enthusiasm

That frenzy to chase the markets, driven by the psychological bias of the “fear of missing out,” has permeated the entirety of the market. As noted in This Is Nuts:”

“Since then, the entire market has surged higher following last week’s earnings report from Nvidia (NVDA). The reason I say “this is nuts” is the assumption that all companies were going to grow earnings and revenue at Nvidia’s rate. There is little doubt about Nvidia’s earnings and revenue growth rates. However, to maintain that growth pace indefinitely, particularly at 32x price-to-sales, means others like AMD and Intel must lose market share.”

Nvidia Price To Sales

Of course, it is not just a speculative frenzy in the markets for stocks, specifically anything related to “artificial intelligence,” but that exuberance has spilled over into gold and cryptocurrencies.

Birds Of A Feather

There are a couple of ways to measure exuberance in the assets. While sentiment measures examine the broad market, technical indicators can reflect exuberance on individual asset levels. However, before we get to our charts, we need a brief explanation of statistics, specifically, standard deviation.

As I discussed in “Revisiting Bob Farrell’s 10 Investing Rules”:

“Like a rubber band that has been stretched too far – it must be relaxed in order to be stretched again. This is exactly the same for stock prices that are anchored to their moving averages. Trends that get overextended in one direction, or another, always return to their long-term average. Even during a strong uptrend or strong downtrend, prices often move back (revert) to a long-term moving average.”

The idea of “stretching the rubber band” can be measured in several ways, but I will limit our discussion this week to Standard Deviation and measuring deviation with “Bollinger Bands.”

“Standard Deviation” is defined as:

“A measure of the dispersion of a set of data from its mean. The more spread apart the data, the higher the deviation. Standard deviation is calculated as the square root of the variance.”

In plain English, this means that the further away from the average that an event occurs, the more unlikely it becomes. As shown below, out of 1000 occurrences, only three will fall outside the area of 3 standard deviations. 95.4% of the time, events will occur within two standard deviations.

Standard Deviation Chart

A second measure of “exuberance” is “relative strength.”

“In technical analysis, the relative strength index (RSI) is a momentum indicator that measures the magnitude of recent price changes to evaluate overbought or oversold conditions in the price of a stock or other asset. The RSI is displayed as an oscillator (a line graph that moves between two extremes) and can read from 0 to 100.

Traditional interpretation and usage of the RSI are that values of 70 or above indicate that a security is becoming overbought or overvalued and may be primed for a trend reversal or corrective pullback in price. An RSI reading of 30 or below indicates an oversold or undervalued condition.” – Investopedia

With those two measures, let’s look at Nvidia (NVDA), the poster child of speculative momentum trading in the markets. Nvidia trades more than 3 standard deviations above its moving average, and its RSI is 81. The last time this occurred was in July of 2023 when Nvidia consolidated and corrected prices through November.

NVDA chart vs Bollinger Bands

Interestingly, gold also trades well into 3 standard deviation territory with an RSI reading of 75. Given that gold is supposed to be a “safe haven” or “risk off” asset, it is instead getting swept up in the current market exuberance.

Gold vs Bollinger Bands

The same is seen with digital currencies. Given the recent approval of spot, Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the panic bid to buy Bitcoin has pushed the price well into 3 standard deviation territory with an RSI of 73.

Bitcoin vs Bollinger Bands

In other words, the stock market frenzy to “buy anything that is going up” has spread from just a handful of stocks related to artificial intelligence to gold and digital currencies.

It’s All Relative

We can see the correlation between stock market exuberance and gold and digital currency, which has risen since 2015 but accelerated following the post-pandemic, stimulus-fueled market frenzy. Since the market, gold and cryptocurrencies, or Bitcoin for our purposes, have disparate prices, we have rebased the performance to 100 in 2015.

Gold was supposed to be an inflation hedge. Yet, in 2022, gold prices fell as the market declined and inflation surged to 9%. However, as inflation has fallen and the stock market surged, so has gold. Notably, since 2015, gold and the market have moved in a more correlated pattern, which has reduced the hedging effect of gold in portfolios. In other words, during the subsequent market decline, gold will likely track stocks lower, failing to provide its “wealth preservation” status for investors.

SP500 vs Gold

The same goes for cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin is substantially more volatile than gold and tends to ebb and flow with the overall market. As sentiment surges in the S&P 500, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies follow suit as speculative appetites increase. Unfortunately, for individuals once again piling into Bitcoin to chase rising prices, if, or when, the market corrects, the decline in cryptocurrencies will likely substantially outpace the decline in market-based equities. This is particularly the case as Wall Street can now short the spot-Bitcoin ETFs, creating additional selling pressure on Bitcoin.

SP500 vs Bitcoin

Just for added measure, here is Bitcoin versus gold.

Gold vs Bitcoin

Not A Recommendation

There are many narratives surrounding the markets, digital currency, and gold. However, in today’s market, more than in previous years, all assets are getting swept up into the investor-feeding frenzy.

Sure, this time could be different. I am only making an observation and not an investment recommendation.

However, from a portfolio management perspective, it will likely pay to remain attentive to the correlated risk between asset classes. If some event causes a reversal in bullish exuberance, cash and bonds may be the only place to hide.

The post Digital Currency And Gold As Speculative Warnings appeared first on RIA.

Read More

Continue Reading

Trending