In March 2024 Bitcoin BTC reached a new all-time high with prices exceeding 73000 USD marking a milestone for the cryptocurrency market This surge was due to the approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds ETFs in the United States allowing investors to access Bitcoin without directly holding it This development increased Bitcoin’s credibility and brought fresh demand from institutional investors echoing previous price surges in 2021 when Tesla announced its 15 billion investment in Bitcoin and Coinbase was listed on the Nasdaq By the end of 2022 Bitcoin prices dropped sharply to 15000 USD following the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and its bankruptcy which caused a loss of confidence in the market By August 2024 Bitcoin rebounded to approximately 64178 USD but remained volatile due to inflation and interest rate hikes Unlike fiat currency like the US dollar Bitcoin’s supply is finite with 21 million coins as its maximum supply By September 2024 over 92 percent of Bitcoin had been mined Bitcoin’s value is tied to its scarcity and its mining process is regulated through halving events which cut the reward for mining every four years making it harder and more energy-intensive to mine The next halving event in 2024 will reduce the reward to 3125 BTC from its current 625 BTC The final Bitcoin is expected to be mined around 2140 The energy required to mine Bitcoin has led to criticisms about its environmental impact with estimates in 2021 suggesting that one Bitcoin transaction used as much energy as Argentina Bitcoin’s future price is difficult to predict due to the influence of large holders known as whales who own about 92 percent of all Bitcoin These whales can cause dramatic market swings by making large trades and many retail investors still dominate the market While institutional interest has grown it remains a small fraction compared to retail Bitcoin is vulnerable to external factors like regulatory changes and economic crises leading some to believe it is in a speculative bubble However others argue that Bitcoin is still in its early stages of adoption and will grow further as more institutions and governments recognize its potential as a hedge against inflation and a store of value 2024 has also seen the rise of Bitcoin Layer 2 technologies like the Lightning Network which improve scalability by enabling faster and cheaper transactions These innovations are crucial for Bitcoin’s wider adoption especially for day-to-day use and cross-border remittances At the same time central bank digital currencies CBDCs are gaining traction as several governments including China and the European Union have accelerated the development of their own state-controlled digital currencies while Bitcoin remains decentralized offering financial sovereignty for those who prefer independence from government control The rise of CBDCs is expected to increase interest in Bitcoin as a hedge against these centralized currencies Bitcoin’s journey in 2024 highlights its growing institutional acceptance alongside its inherent market volatility While the approval of Bitcoin ETFs has significantly boosted interest the market remains sensitive to events like exchange collapses and regulatory decisions With the limited supply of Bitcoin and improvements in its transaction efficiency it is expected to remain a key player in the financial world for years to come Whether Bitcoin is currently in a speculative bubble or on a sustainable path to greater adoption will ultimately be revealed over time.

Bitcoin's transaction volume was at its highest in December 2023, when the network processed over ******* coins on the same day. Bitcoin generally has a higher transaction activity than other cryptocurrencies, except Ethereum. This cryptocurrency is often processed more than *********** times per day. Note that the transaction volume here refers to transactions registered within the Bitcoin blockchain. It should not be confused with Bitcoin's 24-hour trade volume, a metric associated with crypto exchanges. The more Bitcoin transactions, the more it is used in B2C payments? A Bitcoin transaction recorded in the blockchain can be any transaction, including B2C but also P2P. While it is possible to see in the blockchain which address sent Bitcoin to whom, details on who this person is and where they are from are typically missing. Bitcoin was designed to go against monetary authorities and prides itself on being anonymous. An important argument against Bitcoin replacing cash or cards in payments is that the cryptocurrency was not allowed for such a task: Bitcoin ranks among the slowest cryptocurrencies in terms of transaction speed. Are cryptocurrencies taking over payments? Cryptocurrency payments are set to grow at a CAGR of nearly ** percent between 2022 and 2029, although the market is relatively small. The forecast is according to a market estimate made in early 2023, based on various conditions and sources available at that time. Research across ** countries during the same time suggested that the market share of cryptocurrency in e-commerce transactions was "less than *** percent" in all surveyed countries, with predictions being this would not change in the future.

PART I: Distribution table: Interval Frequency Cumulative Frequency Percentage distribution Cumulative percentage distribution 10-12 2 2 13.33 13.33 12.1-14 5 7 33.33 46.66 14.1-16 8 15 53.33 99.99 16.1-18 0 15 0 99.99

18.1 0 15 0 99.99

Majority of the countries, eight, fall in the 14.1-16 category. Five countries fall in the 12.1-14 category and two countries in the 10-12 bin. The remaining categories have zero entries. This means the data does not follow a normal distribution since most of the countries are concentrated at the highest peak. This data could be better visualized in a histogram.

Frequency distribution with revised interval: Interval Frequency Cumulative Frequency Percentage Frequency Cumulative percentage <12 2 2 13.33 13.33 12-12.9 1 3 6.67 20 13-13.9 4 7 26.67 46.67 14-14.9 4 11 26.67 73.34 15-15.9 3 14 20 93.34 16-16.9 1 15 6.67 100.01 17-17.9 0 15 0 100.01

18 0 15 0 100.01 Eight countries have between 14% and 18% of their population above age 65. The number of countries with 14% - 18% of their population above 65 years remain the same even after revising the interval. The percentage of countries that have between 14-18 percent of their population above age 65 is 53.33%.

PART II Q1. Time series chart for divorce rate in Netherlands

Q2. Describe divorce rate in Netherlands before and after 1970. There is a decline in divorce rate between 1950 and 1960. There is a moderate rise in divorce rate between 1960 and 1970, the rate steadily rises between 1970 and 1980 and thereafter exhibits a slight decline between 1980 and 1990. The rate shifts to a declining trend after the year 2000. The decline does not indicate negative number of divorces, this could be attributed to increased population size and fewer number of divorce cases filed. Q3. A bar graph would best display the divorce rate for each year, hence easy comparison. Q4. Bar graph The highest number of divorce cases were recorded in the year 2000, while the least number was observed in 1960.

Set 2: Show how different elements contributed to population change in 2018

Immigration contributed 34 percent of the change in population; births, Emigration, and deaths contributed almost equal change in population.

Q2. Elements of population growth

Immigration contributed the largest change in population growth compared to birth.

Q3. A time series to show changes in male and female population

Both populations show an increasing trend over the 4 years. We could also conclude there are more females than males in the country’s population.

Cryptocurrency enjoyed a prosperous year in 2021 as the asset class enjoyed record returns. In 2021, the crypto industry's total market capitalization grew by 187.5%, peaking at around US$3 trillion, with many of the top coins offering four-digit and even five-digit percentage returns. The value of Bitcoin peaked at almost US$65,000 in mid-April 2021 before falling to US$30,000 by June 2021. Today, over 20,000 different cryptocurrencies exist, with some having little to no following while others enjoy immense popularity, like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The tide turned however as the year came to an end as many economies grappled with numerous macroeconomic headwinds. Financial markets were negatively impacted by these headwinds with both stocks and fixed-income assets struggling. Cryptocurrency would not be spared, leading crypto assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum down as much as 50% in the first half of 2022. Market experts speculate that cryptocurrency may fall even lower by year-end 2022 given the uncertainty that has recently plagued the industry following the collapse of one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges.

The Fall of FTX Prior to November 2022, FTX was recognized as one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, gaining immense popularity during its short existence. The exchange was founded in 2019 with Sam Bankman-Fried co-founding and being the largest stakeholder in the company from inception. Mr Bankman-Fried also co-founded Alameda Research 2017, a quantitative cryptocurrency trading firm.
FTX enjoyed a meteoric rise, peaking in 2021 as the company’s valuation reached US$32 billion. The exchange also issued its own cryptocurrency token called FTT. At its peak in 2021, the exchange had over 1 million users and was the third largest crypto exchange by volume with its token FTT reaching a market cap of $9.39 billion. In 2022, as crypto assets struggled, the FTX exchange stood as one of the brighter lights in the sector. As other cryptocurrency exchanges were challenged on many fronts including bankruptcy earlier in the year, the majority owner of FTX came to the rescue offering financial support to several companies including Robinhood and Voyager. Sam Bankman-Fried would soon gain the nickname “Crypto’s White Knight”. FTX's downfall began when CoinDesk, a news site specializing in bitcoin and digital currencies, released a statement on November 2 2022 revealing that Alameda Research Trading firm was heavily invested in FTT, FTX’s own cryptocurrency, which represented around 40% of the trading firm’s asset holdings. This news put Sam in the spotlight and sparked widespread selloffs in digital assets. The story exposed the depth and complexity of the relationship between FTX and Alameda Research, including that FTX was lending significant quantities of its own token FTT to the trading firm to build up the cash levels. Although the company attempted damage control through public reassurances to its customers, it failed to prevent customers from withdrawing their funds. Four days later on November 6 2022, Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange announced their decision to sell their entire holdings of the FTT tokens worth approximately US$529 million. Binance’s decision to liquidate its position in FTT was based on a risk management strategy following the collapse of the Terra (LUNA) crypto token earlier in 2022. Subsequent to this announcement, withdrawal requests began to rise rapidly and two days later, FTX was faced with a liquidity crisis and stopped paying back customers. While a bail-out was initially offered by Binance, it was rescinded after the necessary due diligence. As a result, eight days after the story broke, on November 11 2022 the company, FTX filed for bankruptcy.