The implications of sharing a bank account

Compartir compte corrent amb altres persones, ja siguin familiars, companys de pis o socis, té implicacions tant per a l’organització de les nostres finances com per a la nostra fiscalitat. Mireia Cano, cap d’agents d’11Onze, explica les diferents fòrmules per constar en un compte i les responsabilitats fiscals que comporten.

Un primer element que s’ha de considerar quan volem compartir un compte corrent és el rol de cada persona, ja que es pot constar com a titular, persona autoritzada o representant legal.

Els titulars d’un compte són responsables dels diners a parts iguals a no ser que algun document oficial acrediti el contrari. A més, els titulars “poden tenir firma indistinta, és a dir, que qualsevol pot fer operacions, o bé firma mancomundada, és a dir, que cal la firma de tots ells per operar”, com explica Mireia Cano.

Una altra opció és que algú consti en un compte com a autoritzat o firma reconeguda. En aquest cas el titular és qui té el poder sobre els diners i qui en respondrà a nivell fiscal, però autoritza una altra persona per fer determinades accions, com fer transferències o treure diners. Això sí, una persona autoritzada mai podrà crear o cancel·lar contractes de comptes corrents o de targetes vinculades. 

Un tercer rol és el de representant legal, que s’utilitza, per exemple, en els comptes de menors i de persones dependents. Els representants legals tenen la potestat sobre els diners del compte, tot i que no siguin titulars.

Quan compartim un compte corrent, s’ha de tenir molt en compte com ens pot afectar cadascuna de les nostres accions i de les altres persones que hi participen. Per tant, és molt recomanable que, abans d’obrir el compte, definim per a què l’utilitzarem i tinguem clar què implicarà per a cada persona i quines responsabilitats estem assumint en termes legals i tributaris.

11Onze és la fintech comunitària de Catalunya. Obre un compte descarregant la super app El Canut per Android o iOS. Uneix-te a la revolució!

When Howard Carter opened the tomb of Tutankhamun in November 1922, he was left speechless. Before him lay a treasure that had remained hidden for more than three thousand years: statues, jewellery, ornaments and the iconic funerary mask of the young pharaoh. Time had taken its toll on the wood, textiles and other materials, yet one element seemed to have completely ignored the passing of the centuries. Gold still shone almost exactly as it had on the day Egyptian craftsmen had worked it.

That scene captures the true nature of this metal better than any other. While almost every material we know ages, deteriorates or reacts with its surroundings, gold seems to defy time itself. It is no coincidence that every great civilisation associated it with immortality, power or divinity. Without realising it, they had identified one of the most extraordinary materials found in nature. The king of metals has countless applications, which we will explore throughout this article, and it can also help grow your savings through Or Llavor.

For thousands of years, gold has been associated with wealth. Today, it still occupies a prominent place in the reserves of central banks and in the portfolios of many investors. Yet reducing gold to a financial asset tells only a small part of its story.

Its true uniqueness is scientific.

Gold is one of the very few materials capable of combining near-perfect chemical stability with outstanding electrical conductivity, extraordinary flexibility and remarkable durability, making it indispensable for everything from smartphones to the most sophisticated space telescope ever built.

In other words, nature created a metal so perfectly engineered that, after millennia of technological progress, we still have not found another material capable of replacing it completely.

Gold at a glance

Before understanding why gold is so extraordinary, it is worth getting to know its “id card“.

No other metal combines all these characteristics at the same time. Some conduct electricity more efficiently. Others are lighter or stronger. But only gold achieves such an extraordinary balance.

The metal that seems immune to time

Iron rusts. Copper develops a green patina. Silver tarnishes over the years. Every metal wages a constant battle against its environment. Gold, by contrast, barely takes part in that battle.

Its atoms have such a stable electronic configuration that they react very little with oxygen, moisture or most of the chemical substances found in nature. As a result, a gold jewel buried for centuries can emerge from the ground with an astonishing shine, requiring little more than a simple cleaning.

This exceptional stability is precisely why gold objects have survived the passage of time in such remarkable condition. Many artefacts discovered at archaeological sites are thousands of years old and yet still look much as they did when they were first created.

This characteristic is so unusual that, for centuries, alchemists regarded gold as the perfect metal. They were not entirely wrong.

The liquid that defies the king of metals

Very few substances are capable of attacking gold chemically. The best known is “aqua regia”, a mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid.

Its name is no coincidence. Alchemists called it “royal water” because it was the only known liquid capable of dissolving what they considered to be the king of metals.

The same principle is still used today in laboratories and in certain refining processes.

The metal that can be shaped like no other

If gold’s chemical resistance is remarkable, its physical properties are even more astonishing. Gold is the most malleable metal known. A small ingot can be hammered over and over again until it becomes an almost unimaginably thin sheet. The famous gold leaf, used to decorate altarpieces, domes, sculptures and historic buildings, can be as thin as 0.0001 millimetres. To put that into perspective, it is about one hundred times thinner than a human hair. When artisans apply these sheets to a surface, they are almost literally working with a film of atoms.

Its ductility is equally extraordinary. Just one can be drawn into a continuous wire almost three kilometres long without breaking. This unique combination of flexibility and strength explains why gold has been prized by goldsmiths for more than five thousand years and why it remains so valuable in modern industry.

An almost unbelievable fact

When gold leaf becomes extraordinarily thin, it ceases to be completely opaque. Light begins to pass through it, giving it a faint greenish tint. It is hard to imagine a metal behaving almost like glass, yet gold once again proves that it is a material full of exceptions.

The Colour Only Einstein Could Explain

One question puzzled scientists for centuries. Why is gold yellow? Most metals appear silver or grey because they reflect almost all wavelengths of visible light in much the same way. Gold behaves differently: it absorbs much of the blue light while reflecting yellow and reddish wavelengths more strongly.

Surprisingly, the answer does not lie in classical chemistry. The electrons in gold atoms move at such high speeds that relativistic effects, described by Albert Einstein, come into play. These effects subtly alter the energy levels of the electrons and, consequently, the way the metal interacts with light. Put simply, gold is yellow because of the theory of relativity.

It is one of the very few everyday objects whose colour can only be explained by a theory we usually associate with black holes and distant galaxies.

A mine… inside your drawer

You probably own more gold than you realise. Every smartphone contains tiny amounts of this metal in its microprocessors, connectors and electronic circuits. It is also found in computers, tablets, televisions, game consoles, internet servers and a wide range of modern medical equipment.

The quantity is extremely small—often just a few dozen milligrams per device—but enough to ensure that these electrical contacts continue to function for years without oxidising or losing conductivity.

This has led to a fascinating fact that sounds almost unbelievable: one tonne of recycled mobile phones can contain more gold than one tonne of ore extracted from certain gold mines. That is why experts no longer speak only about underground mining. They also talk about urban mining, the process of recovering valuable metals hidden inside the electronic devices we no longer use. Every forgotten mobile phone lying in a drawer is, in reality, a small reserve of one of the world’s most valuable and useful materials.

From your phone… to the stars

Gold’s unique properties are not only useful here on Earth. They have also proved essential for exploring space. When an astronaut steps outside the International Space Station, they face some of the harshest conditions imaginable. Without Earth’s atmosphere, solar radiation is far more intense, and temperatures can fluctuate by hundreds of degrees within minutes. That is why the visors of space helmets are coated with an ultra-thin layer of gold that is almost invisible. Its purpose is to reflect much of the Sun’s infrared radiation, reducing heat build-up inside the helmet while protecting the astronaut’s eyes from the intense sunlight.

The same principle applies to satellites. Many are equipped with gold-coated components that shield highly sensitive electronic systems. In orbit, the same surface can exceed 120 °C (248 °F) in direct sunlight and drop below -150 °C (-238 °F) when passing into Earth’s shadow. Gold’s ability to reflect heat helps keep these systems operating within safe temperature limits.

One of the most remarkable examples is the James Webb Space Telescope. Its eighteen hexagonal mirrors are coated with a layer of gold only a few hundredths of a micron thick. So thin, in fact, that all the gold used on the telescope weighs less than a golf ball.

The coating was not chosen because of its monetary value, but because gold is the material that reflects infrared radiation most efficiently. Thanks to this property, the James Webb Telescope can observe galaxies that formed only a few hundred million years after the Big Bang.

The metal that lives in harmony with the human body

Few people associate gold with medicine. Yet it is one of the materials most highly valued by researchers and medical device manufacturers. Once again, the key lies in its extraordinary stability.

Gold is biocompatible, meaning it coexists exceptionally well with human tissue. Because it is almost chemically inert, it is highly unlikely to cause inflammation, corrosion or allergic reactions. This is one of the reasons it has been used for decades in applications where long-term reliability is essential. For many years, gold alloys were commonly used in dental crowns and prosthetics. Gold is also found in pacemakers, certain implants and a variety of electronic medical devices designed to remain inside the human body for many years.

But the future looks even more promising. Nanotechnology has opened the door to using gold particles thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair. These nanoparticles can act as microscopic delivery vehicles, transporting medicines directly to specific cells while reducing unwanted side effects.

Researchers are also investigating their use in early diagnostic systems and innovative treatments for several forms of cancer. It is remarkable to think that the same metal that once adorned the tombs of the pharaohs is now helping shape the future of medicine.

A metal that rarely causes allergies

Many people are allergic to nickel, chromium or other metals commonly found in jewellery and medical implants. High-purity gold, however, has an extremely low incidence of allergic reactions. This is one of its greatest advantages when manufacturing devices intended to remain in contact with the human body for many years.

Gold is so chemically stable that it can even be used in food. The food additive E175 refers to edible gold, which is used to decorate chocolates, desserts, liqueurs, sparkling wines and fine dining creations. It has no flavour and no nutritional value. Its purpose is purely decorative.

What does 18-carat gold actually mean?

One of the most common misconceptions is that carats indicate the quality of a piece of jewellery. In reality, they indicate its purity. The system divides the alloy into twenty-four parts. If all twenty-four parts are gold, it is 24-carat gold. If only eighteen parts are gold and the remainder consists of other metals, it is 18-carat gold.

Pure gold is extraordinarily soft. A wedding ring made from 24-carat gold would scratch very easily. That is why most jewellery is made from 18-carat gold alloys, which retain gold’s characteristic colour while offering much greater durability for everyday wear.

The metal that never disappears

There is one fact that perhaps best captures the uniqueness of gold. Virtually all the gold ever mined throughout human history still exists today. Unlike oil, coal or natural gas, gold is never consumed. It is melted down, recycled and reshaped over and over again without losing any of its properties.

A Roman coin may have been transformed into a medieval chalice. Centuries later, that same chalice could have become a piece of jewellery, then an electronic component and, perhaps one day, part of a satellite. The objects change. The atoms remain exactly the same.

Experts estimate that humanity has mined approximately 216,000 tonnes of gold throughout history. That may sound like an enormous quantity. Yet if all that gold were gathered into a single block, it would form a cube measuring just 22 metres (72 feet) on each side—roughly the height of a seven-storey building.

Every piece of gold ever owned by pharaohs, Roman emperors, medieval kings, central banks and modern industry would fit inside a single building.

Where does all that gold go?

It is striking that only a small proportion ends up in industry. Yet that small fraction is essential for manufacturing computers, satellites, medical equipment, telecommunications systems and countless technologies without which modern life would be unimaginable.

A gift forged before the earth existed

Gold’s story does not begin in a mine. It does not even begin on Earth.

Scientists believe that most of the gold in the universe was created during some of the most violent events known to physics: supernova explosions and, above all, collisions between neutron stars.

When these incredibly dense objects collide, they release colossal amounts of energy capable of creating heavy elements such as gold, platinum and uranium. Those newly formed atoms are scattered through space and, over millions of years, become part of new stars, planets and solar systems. Among that cloud of matter were the atoms that would eventually become part of the Earth. And, much later still, a wedding ring, a microchip, a satellite or a space telescope.

It is an extraordinary thought. The gold atoms we hold between our fingers today are older than our planet. They have survived stellar explosions, the birth of the Solar System, the emergence of life and the entire history of humankind.

Perhaps that is gold’s greatest value. Not because it is rare. Not because it is beautiful. Not even because it serves as a financial safe haven. Gold is unique because it embodies an almost unparalleled combination of properties that nature perfected long before humans ever existed. A metal that continues to shine after thousands of years, enables some of the world’s most advanced technologies and reminds us that even the most ordinary objects can contain a story that began far beyond our own planet.

The next time you look at a piece of gold jewellery, you may no longer see only a precious metal. You may see a fragment of a star that died billions of years ago and, after an unimaginable journey across the cosmos, finally found its way into your hands.

Protecting savings with physical gold has been one of 11Onze’s greatest contributions to its community, and its range of products continues to expand. In today’s environment of market volatility, persistently high inflation and growing distrust in the banking system, gold is once again strengthening its role as a safe-haven asset. Discover Or Llavor at Preciosos 11Onze.

We continue our approach to the history of contemporary women. In this case, we do so by recalling the figure of Carme Karr, who embodied progressive feminism between the 19th and 20th centuries and played a key role in the establishment of universal women’s suffrage.

History has been written by men. For centuries, the male gender has constructed a narrative around its deeds – mainly in the public sphere – and has minimised or ignored women’s contributions.

War, politics, diplomacy or management have built this reality. Therefore, the role given to women has been typically reserved for their gender: wife, mother, daughter, lover… To put it simply, the masculine vision has ended up imposing itself on the feminine reality.

Since ancient times, the sexual differentiation of work has led to a distribution of tasks according to sex, largely driven by biological characteristics. The evolution of societies based on this distinction would end up provoking a differentiated apprenticeship between women and men, which capitalism would transform into resounding inequality.

Voices of protest

At the same time, voices were raised that, through knowledge, ability, and intelligence, would energetically combat gender-based social injustice and express a clear desire to achieve full equality between men and women, even if it cost them their lives.

Catalan society at the beginning of the 20th century did not know how to handle the impact of the appearance of Carme Karr y Alfonsetti (1865-1943) on Barcelona’s intellectual scene. The fact that she was born in a bourgeois, cosmopolitan and European environment – together with her mastery of several languages – gave her a great breadth of vision.

History has recognised her as the country’s first regularly published journalist. She had gained experience on the staff of the magazines ‘Juventud’ and ‘El Adelanto’. But she is most widely known for her work as the head of the magazine ‘Feminal’.

A feminist megaphone

From this megaphone of gender freedom – created and designed for women – Karr would work intensely to elevate the intellect of the female readers who sat down to read at the recently created Biblioteca Popular de la Dona (Women’s Popular Library).

With countless top-level contributors and contributions from all over Europe, ‘Feminal’ acted to vigorously vindicate the role of women in society. The topics it covered were not usually trivial, but highlighted, above all, pervasive issues of common interest. The annals of journalism will remember the written confrontation between Carme Karr and Eugeni d’Ors in their debate on the intellectual capacity of women in tackling such “complex” cultural subjects as poetry, art, and music. No doubt about who got scalded!

It was through her writings that Karr projected a model of womanhood based on modernity and humanism. The key to her ideology hinged, firstly, on the acquisition of a female culture of her own, a basic factor for the progress of society. And then, in obtaining absolute recognition of all their rights.

Culture and feminism, together in public for the first time

It was on Wednesday 6 April 1910 that a woman was allowed to speak in public about culture and feminism for the first time. And it had even more merit to do so in front of an audience that was mainly male and not at all accustomed to listening to women, as was the Atenu Barcelonès at the beginning of the 20th century.

Today’s curiosity evokes the question of how those men must have felt when they heard from the mouth of a woman, and probably for the first time, the importance of normalising the world of women within their patriarchal society.

This discourse is widely remembered as it openly addressed the need to create institutions exclusively for women’s education. These centres of culture for women were to become the fundamental tool that would enable them to acquire the appropriate professional level and thus pave the way to full equality in the workplace.

In addition to the renaissance strategy, it was also necessary to work on the regulation of more gender-specific issues, such as mutual insurance companies to protect them during maternity or the creation of female labour exchanges.

Echoed in Madrid

It was a resounding success. The social impact of the conference was such that it had to be repeated on the following two Wednesdays: 13 and 20 April. But it didn’t stop there. The demands reached Madrid, in a letter sent to the Catalan Solidarity MP Francesc Macià. The future 122nd president of the Generalitat of Catalonia understood that this demand was legitimate and necessary to modernise Catalan society.

This was a turning point for Carme Karr. In the early 1920s, the journalist became an activist, and one of the first actions she undertook in this new phase was to promote the association Acció Femenina, which worked tirelessly to establish universal suffrage for women, among other actions.

The concept of universal women’s suffrage that Carme Karr defended was much closer to the British and American suffragettes than to the National Association of Spanish Women (ANME), which they considered too radical.

The 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition was a perfect megaphone for Catalonia and for Carme Karr to show the world that Catalan society was already modern. Carme Karr was entrusted with the direction of the Women’s Pavilion, the content of which was designed to break down the prejudices of the time about women.

A short-lived breakthrough

The Second Republic brought universal suffrage for women throughout the state. For the first time, women could vote. History had done justice after so many decades of effort and legitimate demands. In this way, conservative feminism, which argued that the social role of women had to focus on two areas: the family and religion, was imposed.

But the victory was short-lived. Carme Karr was deeply affected by the outbreak of the Civil War, the establishment of Franco’s regime, and the outbreak of the Second World War.

For an intelligent, freedom-loving, and absolutely pacifist person, it was difficult for her to understand how a gang of obtuse people were imposing by force, a model of women that forced them to return to their homes and be removed from public life. Seeing decades of effort vanish in an instant pushed her into a depressive abyss.

Thanks to the work of Carme Karr and her contemporaries, universal women’s suffrage became a reality throughout the state. That generation of women worked for the creation of a feminine consciousness that claimed the need to articulate a culture from the feminine self.

11Onze is the community fintech of Catalonia. Open an account by downloading the super app El Canut for Android or iOS and join the revolution!

Taking out home insurance is essential to protect ourselves against incidents that may affect our home, but it is often not easy to understand the policy terminology. We explain some basic concepts you ought to know.

A home insurance policy is a contract by which the policyholder (the person who takes out the policy) pays a premium (amount of money) to the insurance company in exchange for being guaranteed coverage for a risk that is defined in the policy. For this reason, it is important that, when taking out the policy, you study each of the clauses of the contract carefully. We help you to familiarise yourself with the terminology used by the insurer to make the whole process easier.

Building

The building is understood to be all the structural elements of a property, that is to say, the foundations, walls, ceilings, doors, windows, as well as the electrical installation, water and security devices. Basically, all those elements that if we were to turn the house upside down would not fall, as well as any structure attached to it (the garage, the swimming pool…).

You have to bear in mind that each insurance company may have small variations when considering which elements make up the building. Even so, you should be aware that the amount of the building cover does not represent the purchase price or the current market value, but the cost of rebuilding the home.

Contents

The contents refer to all those elements or goods found inside the property: furniture, electrical appliances and other electronic devices, as well as clothing, jewellery, works of art and any valuable personal effects. Contents cover can help you recover the cost of replacing your items that have been damaged in various situations, or that you have lost in the event of theft.

Bear in mind that you will need to make a list of all items before taking out insurance, and belongings above specifically stated values will require additional cover. It is also important to remember to let the company know if you want to add any new items you have acquired after signing the policy.

Civil Liability

Civil liability cover protects against damage caused to third parties by those legally responsible. In the case of home insurance, it covers the person who has taken out the policy or any member of their family (including pets if they are added to the policy) living in the home, for incidents in the home that may affect another person.

This is an essential type of cover in any home insurance policy. A water leak that causes damage on the floor below, a flowerpot that falls from your balcony onto a car, or the breakage of a neighbour’s window while your children are playing ball, are examples of incidents that would be covered.

Watch out for the small print

Yes, it’s a no-brainer, but we must read the small print of our policy carefully to avoid last-minute surprises. For example, terms such as burglary and theft may seem similar, but while many policies cover damage caused in case of burglary (subtraction of property by use of force or violence), other companies do not insure you in case of theft (theft of property due to negligence), as may be the case if you have left your front door open.

The lack of maintenance of a property or not taking the corresponding precautions if you have a dangerous dog are two more examples of imprudent actions that could be classified as negligence, and which would not be covered by the majority of home insurance policies.

And finally, shop around before you buy. The insurance market offer is very varied thanks to the entry of insurtech and the competition between different companies. Take the time to make a comparative study that will allow you to find the option that best suits your needs and the type of home you want to insure.

If you want to discover fair insurance for your home and for society, check 11Onze Segurs.

Avui dia ja podem accedir a les nostres finances, a les aplicacions o a dades personals sense necessitat d’ensenyar el document d’identitat en paper. A 11Onze analitzem com la digitalització de la identitat pot ajudar a reduir les desigualtats i millorar la qualitat de vida de la ciutadania d’arreu del món.

Un dels avantatges més celebrats de la digitalització és el fet de simplificar tràmits amb l’administració que impliquen una inversió de temps i diners important. Ara, ja podem aconseguir el padró sense haver-nos de desplaçar a l’Ajuntament; podem fer la declaració de la renda, amb assessorament inclòs, sense sortir de casa; o bé obtenir un certificat oficial, tot i viure en un poble, sense necessitat d’anar a la sucursal d’una gran ciutat. Aquest és un nou escenari de gestions en línia que gràcies a la identificació digital ens aporta agilitat i seguretat.

Aquesta utopia que, a poc a poc, esdevé la nostra quotidianitat, pot portar beneficis significatius a escala social, tant per a la ciutadania com per a l’administració, com ara reduir el frau o aconseguir un empoderament econòmic més inclusiu. Tot això, però, només s’aconseguirà si aquesta tecnologia es fa servir correctament.

El primer gran repte, identificar la població

Segons dades del Banc Mundial, de les 7.600 milions de persones que hi ha al món, gairebé 1.000 milions no tenen cap mena d’identificació reconeguda legalment. Els 6.000 milions restants es reparteixen entre aquelles persones que, tot i tenir identificació legal, no disposen de mecanismes per fer-la servir en l’àmbit digital i aquells que viuen en països on la identificació digital ja és una realitat, com és el cas de Catalunya.

A escala global, fer tràmits administratius o tributaris en línia no és tan habitual com a molts de nosaltres ens pot semblar, i això obre un altre debat: si oferir nous canals digitals implica més oportunitats i facilitats per a la ciutadania, la falta d’accés comporta més desigualtats? Tant els canals de comunicació com els processos administratius han adoptat la via digital com a punt de referència, i en tot aquest procés la tecnologia ha deixat enrere totes aquelles persones que prefereixen els canals tradicionals, sigui per desconeixement o per falta de recursos. Una dificultat afegida per accedir a bens i serveis que amplia la desigualtat social i suposa posar en risc el lliure accés als recursos públics.

Beneficis i riscos de la identificació digital es contraposen i, com en tot balanç, l’opció que pesa més és la que pot afavorir a més ciutadania, contribuir a la millora social i servir com a eina d’evolució, no només com a substitut d’antics mètodes. En aquest punt, les entitats i organismes que treballen amb col·lectius en situació de vulnerabilitat estan guanyant protagonisme.

iSocial: innovació tecnològica en l’àmbit social

ONG i entitats socials han fet un pas endavant en la lluita social i han introduït la innovació tecnològica en un sector que fins ara se n’havia mantingut al marge. És el cas de la fundació iSocial, orientada a oferir solucions innovadores per a la lluita social. La fundació ha creat Refugee Aid App, una aplicació pensada per al col·lectiu migrant a Europa que té dificultats en el procés d’acollida.

Gràcies a l’aplicació, anomenada RefAid, es posa en contacte persones que necessiten un suport i entitats que en presten, la majoria de les quals són ONG internacionals. Actualment, ja està disponible a 14 països, entre els quals encara no hi ha l’Estat espanyol. La mateixa empresa també ha tret al mercat Lifespots, una aplicació orientada a escala local, però amb la mateixa finalitat: facilitar els canals d’ajuda comunitària.

Una de les preocupacions per a les persones que han de migrar és la por a ser retornats al país d’origen. En aquest sentit, l’aplicació ofereix la seguretat que aquestes dades només es compartiran entre organitzacions socials i amb la finalitat de garantir l’article 14 de la Declaració Universal dels Drets Humans, que protegeix “el dret a buscar asil i a gaudir d’aquest a qualsevol país”.

La identificació digital s’obre camí

Un altre exemple és Protection People app (PPa), una plataforma també impulsada per iSocial i orientada a identificar digitalment les persones en situació administrativa irregular, que són prop de 1.000 milions arreu del món. Persones migrades, que viuen en situacions d’extrema vulnerabilitat o que han patit desastres naturals o humanitaris poden trobar-se en aquesta situació. Per acompanyar-les, aquesta aplicació els ofereix coordinació amb altres ONG per detectar necessitats i obrir nous camins, gràcies a les dades biomètriques (dactilar, facial i patró de venes del palmell de la mà, que no varien amb els anys) i a l’informe vital que l’acompanya. 

Identificar persones de forma 100% digital ja és una realitat i, en part, és gràcies a aplicacions que aconsegueixen fer, en qüestió d’hores, tràmits que els governs tarden mesos o, fins i tot, anys a completar. La innovació tecnològica en l’àmbit social obre un nou escenari per combatre la desigualtat social i aportar seguretat i facilitats a la ciutadania d’arreu del món.

11Onze s’està convertint en un fenomen com a primera comunitat fintech de Catalunya. Ara, llança la primera versió d’El Canut, la super app d’11Onze, per a Android i Apple. Des d’El Canut es pot obrir el primer compte universal al territori català.

Decentralized Finance, or DeFi (Decentralized Finance), is redefining the way we send money, invest, borrow, and manage our assets. Imagine being able to send money to anyone in the world in less than a minute, apply for a loan without visiting a bank branch, or invest your savings at any time, on any day of the year. Just a decade ago, this would have sounded like science fiction. Today, thanks to DeFi, many of these possibilities have already become a reality.

DeFi is not a new currency, nor is it designed to replace banks. Instead, it represents a new way of delivering financial services by leveraging blockchain technology. Just as the Internet revolutionized the way we share information, decentralized finance aims to do something similar with money: allowing individuals and businesses to interact directly, without every transaction necessarily having to pass through a single intermediary.

When financial services become software

In the traditional financial system, banks safeguard money, validate transfers, grant loans, and record every transaction. In the world of DeFi, many of these functions are performed by smart contracts—computer programs that automatically execute predefined instructions when specific conditions are met.

These contracts run on a blockchain, a shared digital ledger that enables transactions to be verified transparently and securely. The result is a financial infrastructure that operates continuously, without relying on office hours or manual processes. In this model, trust is no longer placed exclusively in a financial institution but increasingly in the rules embedded within the software itself.

The wallet: Your gateway to DeFi

Using these services does not require opening a bank account. Instead, users need a wallet, or digital wallet. More than simply a place to store cryptocurrencies, a wallet serves as a user’s digital identity on the blockchain. It allows users to hold assets, authorize transactions, and connect to different decentralized protocols.

The key difference compared with a traditional bank account is that, in a non-custodial wallet, only the owner holds the private keys. This means users retain direct control over their assets without relying on a financial institution to manage them.

This model strengthens individuals’ financial sovereignty, but it also comes with greater responsibility. If the wallet’s private keys are lost, there is generally no authority capable of restoring access.

What can you do with DeFi?

Decentralized finance goes far beyond buying and selling cryptocurrencies. Today, it enables users to exchange digital assets, obtain loans by providing collateral, earn returns by supplying liquidity to other users, or send money anywhere in the world within minutes.

One of the most common questions is where the money being lent comes from if there is no bank behind the system. In many protocols, liquidity is provided by the users themselves. In exchange for making their assets temporarily available to the protocol, they can earn a financial return, while other participants use those funds to obtain financing. The entire process is managed automatically through smart contracts.

A particularly important role is played by stablecoins, cryptocurrencies whose value is pegged to a traditional currency such as the US dollar or the euro. Assets such as USDC or EURC allow users to operate on blockchain networks without being exposed to the price volatility of Bitcoin or Ethereum, making them the primary tool for managing liquidity within the DeFi ecosystem.

Their usefulness extends well beyond investing. An increasing number of payment cards are now linked to wallets, allowing users to pay at any merchant that accepts Visa or Mastercard. For the merchant, the payment is still received in euros or the local currency, while for the user, the funds can come directly from their wallet.

Beyond cryptocurrencies

If stablecoins represent the present of DeFi, asset tokenization may define its future. Tokenization consists of digitally representing real-world assets on a blockchain, including stocks, bonds, real estate, or shares in investment funds.

This process has the potential to simplify many financial operations, reduce administrative costs, and make certain investments more accessible. As a result, rather than viewing DeFi as a threat, many financial institutions are already developing projects based on this technology. Some of the world’s leading banks and asset managers are experimenting with tokenized assets and blockchain-based payment systems, convinced that they can improve the efficiency of a wide range of financial services.

A transformation that has already begun

Decentralized finance still faces significant challenges, including regulation, protocol security, and user protection. Even so, its rapid evolution over recent years demonstrates that blockchain is no longer simply a technology associated with cryptocurrencies. It is increasingly becoming a financial infrastructure with a growing range of real-world applications.

In a few years’ time, many people may use blockchain-based financial services without even realizing it. Just as we send emails today without thinking about the Internet protocols that make them possible, DeFi is likely to become an invisible layer of technology supporting an ever-growing part of the global financial system.

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L’impacte del canvi climàtic en el medi ambient, l’economia i la societat és cada vegada més evident. Per entendre i fer front a aquest fenomen els científics es basen en complexes models de predicció que són crucials per valorar els riscos de l’escalfament global. 

Les projeccions climàtiques són essencials per tal d’avaluar els efectes de l’escalfament global i els riscos que en resulten. Així, els models de predicció del canvi climàtic són simulacions tècniques de la futura evolució del clima a la Terra que s’obtenen mitjançant l’execució i estudi de models numèrics. Aquestes simulacions es poden fer en un àmbit global o regional i es basen en les lleis de la física, la química, la biologia i la dinàmica atmosfèrica.

Els models climàtics globals (MCG) els realitzen l’equip de tècnics i científics del Grup Intergovernamental sobre el Canvi Climàtic (GICC) amb seu a Ginebra i que depèn de les Nacions Unides. Es tracta d’un organisme multinacional que investiga les causes i efectes del canvi climàtic arreu del món i s’encarrega a portar a terme les negociacions relatives als diferents escenaris que es preveuen, com es va fer en el marc del Protocol de Kyoto.

Tot i que a l’Estat espanyol l’Agència Estatal de Meteorologia (AEMET) s’ocupa de les projeccions climàtiques regionalitzades, des de 2008 el Servei Meteorològic de Catalunya (SMC) ha realitzat diversos estudis -conjuntament amb el Barcelona Supercomputing Center- per tal d’elaborar projeccions regionalitzades del clima per al segle XXI al nostre territori.

La metodologia dels models de predicció

Amb el fi d’aconseguir una simulació fiable, els diferents models de predicció requereixen tantes dades d’entrada com sigui possible: concentració de gasos d’efecte hivernacle o aerosols a l’atmosfera, radiació solar, emissions de gasos contaminants i altres factors que poden influir en el clima.

Un cop introduïdes el conjunt de condicions inicials basades en dades observades, els models numèrics i equacions fonamentals que governen les dinàmiques de fluids, de conservació d’energia i d’altres relacionades amb la interacció entre l’atmosfera, els oceans i la superfície terrestre, ens poden indicar el comportament futur del sistema climàtic si es desenvolupen certs escenaris.

Aquests escenaris defineixen trajectòries que representen concentracions de gasos amb efecte d’hivernacle i aerosols, és a dir que tenen un origen principalment antropogènic i, per tant, depenen en gran manera del nostre comportament i decisions polítiques globals. 

Fiabilitat dels models climàtics

Primer de tot, cal tenir en compte que, a diferència d’una previsió meteorològica, els models climàtics no pretenen fer prediccions molt precises i a petita escala del que passarà en els pròxims dies, sinó que tenen com a objectiu projectar els canvis climàtics al llarg dels anys o dècades, però en cap cas estan pensats per fer una previsió del temps que farà en un futur.

És a dir, aquestes simulacions diàries s’interpreten estadísticament per produir projeccions climàtiques, donant lloc a estudis sobre la probabilitat que s’observin unes condicions meteorològiques particulars en el futur. I en aquest sentit, un estudi sobre la fiabilitat de 17 models climàtics que es remunten a principis de la dècada de 1970, va arribar a la conclusió que la majoria dels models van ser efectius en predir les temperatures de les dècades següents.

Evidentment, més enllà d’una aproximació, és difícil que un model de predicció climàtica sigui 100% correcte, però els models van millorant a mesura que avança la tecnologia i la comunitat científica té plena confiança en què aquestes simulacions són la millor eina que tenim per fer front al canvi climàtic. En tot cas, i independentment de la seva eficàcia, sabem que tenim la capacitat de reduir la quantitat de gasos d’efecte d’hivernacle que emetem al nostre planeta, i no tenim cap motiu per no fer-ho.

Si vols descobrir com beure la millor aigua, estalviar diners i ajudar al planeta, entra a Imprescindibles 11Onze.

En un moment d’elevada incertesa econòmica, amb tensions geopolítiques globals, inflació persistent i una confiança minvant en les monedes fiduciàries, molts estalviadors es pregunten com protegir el seu patrimoni. I cada cop més, la resposta apunta en una direcció molt concreta: l’or.

Aquest metall preciós, amb milers d’anys d’història com a reserva de valor, torna a ocupar un lloc central en les estratègies de protecció financera. I no és casualitat. Més enllà del seu simbolisme, l’or ofereix una sèrie de característiques que el fan únic en temps d’incerteses.

L’or no és un actiu financer convencional. No depèn de cap emissor, no comporta risc de crèdit i no es pot crear arbitràriament, com sí que passa amb les divises. És un actiu tangible, escàs i universalment reconegut. Aquestes qualitats el converteixen en un refugi natural davant la inflació, la incertesa i els cicles econòmics adversos.

Quan les borses cauen, quan els bancs centrals imprimeixen diners a gran escala o quan el valor dels diners es dilueix, l’or manté —i sovint incrementa— el seu valor. I això és exactament el que està passant.

El moment actual

Durant els darrers quatre anys, el preu de l’or s’ha revalorat prop d’un 85 %, i només en el darrer any ha pujat més d’un 30 %. Es tracta d’una tendència clara i contundent, impulsada per la debilitat estructural del dòlar, la previsió de recessió als Estats Units i una inflació global que no s’ha pogut contenir del tot. Aquestes xifres no són promeses de futur: són fets que han cridat l’atenció tant d’inversors institucionals com de particulars.

Amb data d’agost de 2025, l’or cotitza prop dels 3.380 dòlars per unça, assolint màxims històrics. Paral·lelament, els bancs centrals —especialment el de la Xina— acumulen or mes rere mes, amb nou mesos consecutius de compres, en una clara estratègia per reduir la seva exposició al dòlar i blindar el seu sistema monetari.

També la demanda individual es manté elevada: a l’Índia, tot i el preu elevat, la compra de joies d’or continua sent massiva, reafirmant el metall com una reserva de valor familiar per excel·lència.

I què diuen les previsions?

Les principals entitats financeres internacionals apunten cap a una continuïtat de la tendència alcista en el valor de l’or durant els pròxims mesos i anys:

• HSBC preveu una mitjana de 3.215 $ l’unça el 2025, amb pics de fins a 3.600 $.
• Goldman Sachs va més enllà i estima que, si s’agreuja la recessió, podríem veure valors superiors als 3.800 $.
• J.P. Morgan apunta a una mitjana de 3.675 $ al quart trimestre d’aquest any, amb possibilitats reals de superar els 4.000 $ el 2026.
• D’altres informes, com el de WisdomTree, arriben a estimar un escenari extrem que podria portar l’or fins als 5.000 $ per unça si es desencadenen nous xocs inflacionaris o polítics a escala mundial.
  

Tot plegat dibuixa un escenari on l’or consolida el seu paper com a actiu estratègic per preservar valor i oferir estabilitat en carteres cada cop més exposades a riscos sistèmics.

I per als petits inversors?

Avui, invertir en or ja no és patrimoni exclusiu de grans fortunes ni de bancs centrals. Qualsevol inversor amb criteri i visió pot accedir-hi de manera segura i transparent, sense necessitat d’intermediaris opacs ni productes financers complicats.

Existeixen opcions accessibles per a tots els perfils: des de la compra directa de lingots o monedes, fins a la inversió fraccionada amb custòdia professional, o sistemes híbrids que permeten gestionar el teu or com un actiu patrimonial real, físic i assignat.

El més important no és només adquirir or, sinó com i amb qui ho fas. Els inversors més exigents busquen:

• Transparència contractual i preus clars.
• Or físic 100 % assignat, no paper ni promeses. 
• Custòdia segura i auditada, amb accés immediat al teu actiu si el necessites.
• Tracte personalitzat, amb acompanyament expert, no simples processos automàtics.

Invertir en or avui significa protegir el valor dels teus diners en un entorn on tot fluctua… menys el que és real. És una forma de diversificar amb seny, de refugiar-se sense renunciar al control, i de construir un futur sòlid sobre un actiu que ha resistit totes les crisis conegudes. L’or no canvia. Però la manera d’accedir-hi sí. I això ho canvia tot.

Un tancament amb perspectiva

Invertir en or no és cap moda passatgera ni una resposta impulsiva davant la por. És una decisió estratègica, arrelada en la història i avalada pels fets. En un món on la confiança en les institucions financeres es veu sacsejada, on les polítiques monetàries són cada cop més intervencionistes i on el valor dels diners es dilueix any rere any, l’or emergeix com una de les poques certeses tangibles que queden.

Aquest metall no promet rendiments espectaculars a curt termini. No ven la il·lusió d’un enriquiment ràpid. El que ofereix, però, és una forma sòlida de conservar valor, de garantir independència financera i de resistir els embats que ja estan transformant el sistema econòmic global.

Mantenir una part del teu patrimoni en or no és una aposta, és una assegurança. És blindar els teus estalvis davant escenaris que escapen al teu control: inflació desbocada, caigudes borsàries, crisi de deute sobirà, pèrdua de poder adquisitiu o canvis geopolítics imprevisibles.

A més, fer-ho ara, en un moment en què els bancs centrals acumulen reserves i el mercat consolida una tendència alcista, és actuar amb anticipació. No quan tot s’enfonsa, sinó quan encara tens marge per decidir.

Per això, si estàs pensant en com protegir el que has guanyat amb esforç, si no vols deixar els teus estalvis exposats a riscos sistèmics i vols començar a construir una estratègia patrimonial amb cara i ulls, l’or mereix un espai al teu horitzó. No és una resposta per a tothom. Però potser sí que és la resposta que tu estaves buscant.

Si vols descobrir la millor opció per protegir els teus estalvis, entra a Preciosos 11Onze. T’ajudarem a comprar al millor preu el valor refugi per excel·lència: l’or físic.

The minerals that almost nobody knows… but everyone needs. In the spring of 2025, several European car manufacturers began to worry. Essential components needed to keep producing vehicles were at risk of no longer arriving. It was not a new oil crisis. Nor was it a semiconductor shortage. The source of the problem was a group of minerals that are virtually unknown to the general public but have quietly become one of the most powerful geopolitical weapons of the 21st century.

A few days later, China announced new export restrictions on certain rare earths and permanent magnets. The news made headlines in specialist media, but for many people it went largely unnoticed. Yet the move exposed an uncomfortable reality: much of the technology we use every day depends on materials that are, to a great extent, controlled by a single country.

A hundred years ago, global power was measured in barrels of oil. Today, it is increasingly measured in kilograms of minerals.

They are not rare. What is truly exceptional is knowing how to process them

The name is probably the first great misconception. Rare earths are not particularly scarce. Some of their seventeen chemical elements are actually more abundant in the Earth’s crust than copper. The problem is that they are rarely found concentrated in one place. Instead, they are scattered among other minerals, and separating them requires highly complex, expensive chemical processes with a significant environmental impact.

For years, Europe and the United States reached what seemed like a logical conclusion: importing these materials was cheaper than producing them. Mines gradually closed, many refining plants disappeared, and the industry steadily moved to Asia. Meanwhile, China was doing exactly the opposite.

Without attracting much attention, it invested in mines, refining technologies, chemical processing plants and the manufacture of the components that major Western companies would later buy. While others focused on cutting costs in the short term, Beijing was building an industrial strategy that now gives it an advantage that is extremely difficult to replicate. And this is where the great paradox that explains this entire story emerges. The most valuable resource is not the mineral itself. It is the knowledge required to transform it.

The mine is only the beginning of the story

When we think of a raw material, we usually picture an excavator digging rocks out of a mountainside. But in the case of rare earths, that is only the opening scene of a much longer story.

Next comes refining, where the seventeen chemical elements are separated one by one. They are then transformed into specialised alloys and, later, into extraordinary permanent magnets capable of generating enormous power while taking up very little space. Only then do they reach the factories that manufacture electric motors, industrial robots, wind turbines, satellites and mobile phones.

When you unlock your smartphone with facial recognition, listen to music through wireless earbuds or use an artificial intelligence tool, you probably never think about it. Yet behind these everyday actions lies an industrial supply chain that begins in a mine located thousands of kilometres away. It is an invisible reality. And that is precisely why it is so easy to forget.

The tiny elements powering the world’s biggest technologies

Very few raw materials are as discreet and yet as indispensable as rare earths.

Neodymium makes it possible to manufacture the magnets used in electric vehicle motors. Dysprosium ensures those magnets retain their performance at extremely high temperatures. Europium is used in displays and lighting systems, while lanthanum is found in batteries, cameras and optical components.

Without these materials, many modern wind turbines, advanced medical equipment, satellites, lasers, radar systems and defence technologies simply would not exist.

The figures help put their importance into perspective. An electric vehicle requires several times more rare earths than a conventional car, while a single offshore wind turbine can contain hundreds of kilograms of magnets made from these materials. Even the world’s most advanced fighter aircraft depend on them.

Artificial intelligence, which we often think of as being purely about software, also begins here. The data centres that train models such as ChatGPT require thousands of processors, electronic components and cooling systems built through an industrial supply chain in which rare earths play an essential role.

Algorithms do not emerge out of nowhere. Before algorithms comes industry. And before industry come the minerals.

China understood the game before anyone else

For decades, the Western world looked the other way. Producing rare earths was expensive, environmentally damaging and attracted little political interest. China, however, saw them as a strategic opportunity.

Today, it is not only one of the world’s leading producers. Its greatest advantage is that it controls much of the global refining capacity and the manufacturing of the permanent magnets used by companies around the world. This dominance allows China to influence industries as diverse as automotive manufacturing, renewable energy, defence and consumer electronics.

When Beijing announces export restrictions, markets react because they know replacing this industrial capacity is not a matter of months, but most likely years. The West has discovered that outsourcing an industry for thirty years is far easier than rebuilding it.

The new war is no longer fought only over oil

This is why the United States, Canada, Australia, the European Union and other countries are accelerating mining projects, investing in new refining facilities and seeking agreements with strategic partners. Investment in recycling is also increasing, as the electronic devices we discard today could become an important source of critical materials tomorrow.

The challenge is no longer simply about manufacturing more electric cars or more wind turbines. It is about deciding who will control the industries of the future. That is why rare earths are no longer merely a geological issue, they have become a matter of national security.

Why does all this affect your savings?

Major geopolitical shifts eventually reach the everyday economy. When tensions arise in the supply of critical minerals, manufacturers face higher costs, industrial projects are delayed and companies are forced to revise their forecasts. Ultimately, these disruptions can be reflected in financial markets, inflation and the prices of the products we buy.

Understanding this dependence does not mean you should invest in rare earths. It means gaining a better understanding of why technology companies, car manufacturers and industrial groups react so strongly to political decisions that, at first glance, seem to take place on the other side of the world. Natural resources continue to shape the global economy. The only thing that has changed is which resources have become the most valuable.

The future is also mined from the earth

During the 20th century, oil largely determined the fate of economies and international conflicts. In the 21st century, that influence is increasingly shared by far less familiar, yet equally indispensable, resources. Without rare earths there would be no electric vehicles, no wind turbines, no industrial robots, no satellites and no artificial intelligence.

The next time you unlock your smartphone, listen to music through wireless earbuds or ask an AI for an answer, remember that behind that technology lies a supply chain that begins in a mine, continues in a refining plant thousands of kilometres away and ultimately helps shape the global economy.

Algorithms may seem to be the engine of the future. But without these seventeen chemical elements, the future simply would not start.

Protecting savings with physical gold has been one of 11Onze’s greatest contributions to its community, and its range of products continues to expand. In today’s environment of market volatility, persistently high inflation and growing distrust in the banking system, gold is once again strengthening its role as a safe-haven asset. Discover Or Llavor at Preciosos 11Onze.

We are not sufficiently aware of the power we have as consumers to influence the economy. But we have to start believing it: citizens can change the market and make local and sustainable trade even more important.

The pandemic has made us rediscover the importance of community and proximity. Restrictions on mobility have made us realise that relying on products from the other side of the world makes no sense. In fact, we are still suffering from delays in the supply and trade of products because of the global confinement we have experienced and the geopolitical turmoil that never stops. 

When we talk about local products, we often only think of food products, but we must also think of services: telephony, health care, energy, finance… All these services are usually offered by large corporations that have their headquarters outside Catalonia and, therefore, do not invest their profits in the citizens of Catalonia. 

On the other hand, if we contract the services of companies, businesses or cooperatives in Catalonia, the profits obtained are invested in our community, and also contribute to providing work for thousands and thousands of people.

11Onze is the community fintech of Catalonia. Open an account by downloading the super app El Canut for Android or iOS and join the revolution!