Cryptocurrencies are digital models that use cryptography to secure transactions and control inflation. In 2018, cryptocurrency became the buzzword in the fiscal vocabulary- it's easy to see why. For a budding technology that was relatively new, cryptocurrency rapidly made a significant impact on both the financial and geopolitical landscape.

Since its inception in 2009, cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, have gained traction as an alternative to government-issued fiat currency. This is for good reason-cryptocurrencies are decentralized, transparent and borderless; this gives users more control over their money. Also, cryptocurrencies offer distinct advantages over traditional forms of money.

For starters, the currency is highly portable. You can quickly transfer it from one country to another without going through third parties. Another benefit of cryptocurrencies is that they're cheaper than traditional forms of money. As a result, you can use them to save money whenever you want -not just when you need it. In addition, cryptocurrencies provide the privacy that's virtually impossible with common forms of money. And the security offered by cryptocurrencies means there's no way for governments or third parties to track your funds or activities online.

Today, cryptocurrency ranks among the most popular means of payment. The benefits of using this medium include low transaction fees and quick transaction times. Another benefit is that the currency is decentralized; this means it's not controlled by any single entity. Thus, it's difficult to shut down or regulate. It's not surprising that many people are interested in investing in this medium.

As more people invest in cryptocurrency, its value increases exponentially. This means people can make considerable amounts of money by investing in this gem. Because of its popularity, there are people who want to use cryptocurrencies for illegal activities like money laundering and drug trafficking. With this in mind, authorities in some countries have banned the use of cryptocurrencies for these purposes. Regardless, there are specific nuances in using cryptocurrencies. For example, you can hide your tracks if you use cryptocurrencies for illegal activities as no value is attached to such transactions.

Today, a growing number of people are using cryptocurrency, including individuals and businesses. What impact is this having on the US economy? A direct consequence is that it's 'democratizing' money. People with limited access to financial services can use crypto to store value and make transactions. More people can participate in the economy and impact the national arena. In addition, cryptocurrency is helping to fight inequality by providing a viable way for citizens to participate in global business. Another advantage of using cryptocurrency is that it's faster than traditional payment methods like banks.

Overall, since the phenomenon is new and evolving, we need more time to assess its impact on the US economy. It's, however, a promising concept for the future of money and democracy in the US. By and large, cryptocurrency has dramatically impacted the economy of the United States. It's estimated that cryptocurrency has been responsible for over $1 billion in economic growth each year. When people have money, they tend to spend more at local businesses and restaurants. This means cryptocurrency is helping to grow the US economy by improving people's lives.

Analysts admit that cryptocurrencies have become essential to most Americans' financial lives. To illustrate, over 2 million people currently hold cryptocurrencies as part of their investment portfolio- and this number is growing daily. As more people invest in cryptocurrencies, it becomes even more critical for the US economy. Also, it's likely to protect the US against future economic crises. As earlier noted, one direct impact of this phenomenon is that it's significantly democratizing money.

Pundits note that cryptocurrency is making waves across the globe as a way to move money without the traditional middleman. Why, with its decentralized nature, no central authority can control it. Essentially, cryptocurrency is digital- this means it's easy to transfer and use. These factors make cryptocurrency a great way to transfer large sums of money from place to place. So, with the rise in cryptocurrency, we're seeing more and more people using it for everyday transactions.

Even people with limited access to financial services can use crypto to store value and make transactions. This means more people participate in the economy and have a chance to impact the economy. In addition, cryptocurrency helps fight inequality by providing a way for citizens to benefit from the global economy. Today, cryptocurrency is used by US businesses as a way to accept payments across borders. This helps small businesses in the US gain access to new markets and customers across the world.

Nikola Corporation, a provider of zero-emissions transportation and energy infrastructure solutions, today announced the completion of its acquisition of Romeo Power, Inc.

"We are pleased to complete the acquisition of Romeo and look forward to executing on the opportunities ahead," said Michael Lohscheller, Nikola's President. "The acquisition of Romeo will enhance Nikola's capabilities, allowing us to vertically integrate in an effort to accelerate product development and improve performance for our customers. Today's milestone further solidifies our commitment to transforming the transportation industry."

Nikola completed the acquisition of Romeo today through a second-step merger of a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nikola with and into Romeo, in accordance with Section 251(h) of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware. Each remaining share of common stock of Romeo not purchased in the exchange offer (other than any shares owned by Nikola, Romeo or any of their respective subsidiaries) was converted into the right to receive the same 0.1186 of a share of Nikola common stock, rounded down to the nearest whole share, subject to reduction for any applicable withholding taxes, paid in the exchange offer. Upon completion of the transaction, Romeo became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nikola.

As a result of the acquisition, shares of common stock of Romeo ceased trading as of the close of the market on October 14, 2022 and will no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

About Nikola Corporation

Nikola Corporation is a designer and manufacturer of zero-emission battery-electric and hydrogen-electric vehicles, electric vehicle drivetrains, vehicle components, energy storage systems, and hydrogen station infrastructure. Founded in 2015, Nikola Corporation is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

Hut 8 Mining Corp. ( Nasdaq: HUT) (TSX: HUT), one of North America's largest, innovation-focused digital asset mining pioneers and high performance computing infrastructure provider, increased its Bitcoin holdings by 375 in the period ending August 31, bringing its total self-mined holdings to 8,111 Bitcoin.

Production highlights for August 2022: 375 Bitcoin were generated, resulting in an average production rate of approximately 12.1 Bitcoin per day. Keeping with our longstanding HODL strategy, 100% of the self-mined Bitcoin in August were deposited into custody. Total Bitcoin balance held in reserve is 8,111 as of August 31, 2022. Installed ASIC hash rate capacity was 2.98 EH/s at the end of the month, which excludes certain legacy miners that the Company anticipates will be fully replaced by the end of the year. Hut 8 produced 125.8 BTC/EH in August.

In late August, Hut 8 installed 180 NVIDIA GPUs in its flagship data centre in Kelowna, B.C. Currently mining Ethereum, the multi-workload machines will be designed to pivot on demand to provide Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or VFX rendering services to customers. Hut 8 is partnering with Zenlayer to bring their on-demand high-performance computing to Canadian Web 3.0 and blockchain customers for the first time.

"Our team delivered very strong results across our mining and high performance infrastructure businesses in August, positioning us well for continued success," said Jaime Leverton, CEO. "We continue to receive and install our monthly shipments of new MicroBT miners on time, while actively adding to the suite of services we offer our data centre customers."

Hut 8 is one of North America's largest innovation-focused digital asset miners, led by a team of business-building technologists, bullish on bitcoin, blockchain, Web 3.0, and bridging the nascent and traditional high performance computing worlds. With two digital asset mining sites located in Southern Alberta and a third site in North Bay, Ontario, all located in Canada, Hut 8 has one of the highest capacity rates in the industry and one of the highest inventories of self-mined Bitcoin of any crypto miner or publicly-traded company globally.

With 36,000 square feet of geo-diverse data centre space and cloud capacity connected to electrical grids powered by significant renewables and emission-free resources, Hut 8 is revolutionizing conventional assets to create the first hybrid data centre model that serves both the traditional high performance compute (Web 2.0) and nascent digital asset computing sectors, blockchain gaming, and Web 3.0.

Hut 8 was the first Canadian digital asset miner to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Through innovation, imagination, and passion, Hut 8 is helping to define the digital asset revolution to create value and positive impacts for its shareholders and generations to come.

eBay, a global e-commerce leader connecting millions of buyers and sellers worldwide, released its Southeast Asia Small Online Business Trade Report July 2022 ("Report"), highlighting the successes of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Southeast Asia in expanding their global reach and selling to international markets using the eBay global marketplace.

eBay's "Southeast Asia Small Online Business Trade Report 2022" showed that 68% of eBay-enabled small businesses in Southeast Asia exported to 10 or more international markets in 2020 – spurring the growth of global retailers.

SMEs are the backbone of Southeast Asia's economy and a vital tenet of the regional economic architecture. In Malaysia, SMEs account for 97.2% of total business establishments, contributing 38.2%, or more than RM 512.8 billion, to the country's GDP in 2020. Among the six Southeast Asian markets of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam covered in the Report, 68% of eBay-enabled small businesses exported to 10 or more international markets. In 2020, the region's eBay-enabled small business community made sales in 214 international markets.

eBay's global marketplace is uniquely positioned to offer Southeast Asian SMEs e-commerce export opportunities – while less than 20% of traditional businesses in each of the six markets highlighted in this Report export, all eBay-enabled small businesses in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam are exporters, and more than 95% in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore use eBay to reach global consumers. As a result, eBay enables small businesses to become global retailers from day one, and the eBay marketplace offers them an extended growth runway that is both diversified and resilient.

eBay-enabled small businesses defy the conventional wisdom that entry costs are a barrier to expanding into new international markets. Malaysian SMEs on eBay export to an average of 30 international destination markets. The top markets include the US, UK, Australia, Germany, Canada, Italy, France, Japan, China, and Spain.

"The main goal of eBay in Southeast Asia is to enable SMEs to sell globally. The marketplace offers 142 million active buyers across more than 3,000 product categories with market access to 190 markets. On eBay, export is no longer the privilege of large enterprises only. SMEs in Malaysia can easily reach consumers in some of the world's largest consumer markets, such as the US, UK, Germany, Australia, and become 'mini multinational corporations," said eBay's Regional General Manager for Southeast Asia and India, Vidmay Naini.

Beyond that, the ability to access non-traditional export markets via the eBay marketplace is immediately apparent for these SMEs. Seven of the top ten export markets for eBay-enabled small businesses in Malaysia are not in the top ten for traditional exporters.

The top five product categories exported by Malaysian sellers on eBay were: Auto Parts, Home & Garden, Health & Beauty, Cell Phones & Accessories and Collectibles.

Malaysian sellers on eBay have seen strong growth in a number of categories in 2021. For instance, in the Auto Parts & Accessories category, Malaysian sellers have grown Wheels, Tires and Parts sales by 29% in 2021, while Electrical and Ignition parts have grown by 76%.

There was also an increase in sales by Malaysian sellers on eBay in the Cell Phones & Accessories Category, with smartwatches increasing by 24%, headsets by 33%, and smartphones by 15%. Meanwhile, Sports Trading Card Singles in the Collectibles category increased exponentially at 109%.

eBay provided the platform for eBay-enabled small businesses to penetrate the global market. Jeff Liow is the director of Kings of Rim Malaysia (KOR), an eBay-enabled small business, and has been selling automotive wheels on eBay since 2016. According to Liow, "eBay has opened more countries for KOR to branch out their business including countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom."

During the infancy stages, it took us some time to learn and adapt. Later on, eBay suggested moving most of KOR inventories to the US warehouse via the SEA forward deployment initiative. "Our sales increased tenfold and continued to rise as KOR became acquainted with buyers' wants and needs, and eBay provided the insights enabling us to tap into the global scene," said Liow.

"eBay is leveraging the combined depth of our in-market teams and the global scale of eBay's marketplace to assist SMEs in growing their businesses and meeting the increasingly complex demands of global markets and consumers. We are delighted to play an important role in empowering and enabling our Southeast Asian, and Malaysian SMEs to expand their international reach - and to assist Malaysian SMEs in bringing the region's diverse retail offering to the world," said Mr. Naini.

The launch of the eBay's Report in Malaysia was followed by a fireside chat. Based on the Report prepared by eBay, the discussion focused on the Malaysian SME ecosystem. Yong Kai Ping, CEO of Selangor Information Technology & Digital Economy Corporation (SIDEC), Khairul Annuar Abdul Halim, Senior Director at Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), Jeff Liow, Director of King of Rims Malaysia, and Vidmay Naini, Regional General Manager for Southeast Asia and India eBay International CBT (Cross Border Trade) were among the panellists.