Category: Trade

The crypto market is gaining momentum, with Bitcoin once again smashing past the milestone of $50K as Ethereum rapidly approaches all-time highs above $4K.

Gains in both cryptoassets are being driven by ongoing adoption. This includes leaked images showing that Twitter is testing a crypto tipping service, and hints from Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Gary Gensler that a long-awaited Bitcoin ETF could finally be on the cards.

Meanwhile, in the altcoin universe, Chainlink and Litecoin are both celebrating 30% wins, and Uniswap has added 10% despite news that the SEC is investigating the startup behind the decentralized exchange.

This Week’s Highlights

• DeFi tokens surge on record value locked
• Deflationary trend drives Ethereum towards all-time highs

DeFi tokens surge on record value locked

While NFTs have captured the crypto market’s attention with the trading of avatars and artwork, the nascent DeFi sector has been quietly breaking records.

Total locked value in the ecosystem reached an all-time high of almost $100 billion last week, which is reflected in the stellar performance of DeFi tokens: Chainlink is up over 30%, and Yearn.finance, Aave, and Compound are all enjoying double-digit weekly gains. The rally comes in defiance of stirrings from the SEC, as a new investigation into Uniswap Labs suggests that discussions on DeFi regulation could be starting to translate into enforcement action.

Deflationary trend drives Ethereum towards all-time highs

After surpassing $3,500 for the first time since May on Thursday, the price of Ethereum is now only around $400 away from all-time highs.

Along with a growing interest in DeFi and NFTs, the upswing could be driven by a change in monetary policy. The recent implementation of EIP-1559 means that network transaction fees are now being burnt, which means removed from circulation. For the first time ever last week, there was more ETH being burnt than being created.

Looking forward, this deflationary trend is widely expected to continue, bringing increased scarcity which could give ETH more appeal as an asset for long-term investing.

Week ahead

Although Ethereum has been pulling ahead, adding 20% this week compared to Bitcoin’s 10%, this could be about to change.

On Tuesday, Bitcoin is set to officially become legal tender in El Salvador, and enthusiasts all over the world are planning to celebrate by swapping $30 of their local currency for BTC. If enough investors participate, the coordinated buying could help send Bitcoin back towards all-time highs.

Elsewhere, more fireworks could be expected for Cardano this week before the Alonzo mainnet upgrade is deployed on September 12th.

Image by Paul Barlow from Pixabay

Ether is closing in on all-time highs while Bitcoin has reached above $50,000 for the first time since mid-May.

ETH surged in the last week coming close to breaching the $4,000 level. The cryptoasset began the week below $3,200 but rose quickly through the week, reaching $3,981 by Friday. Over the weekend gains have flattened but remain trading in this range.

A confluence of factors is contributing to the rising price of  ETH. ETH burning, staking, gas fees, transactions and locked away tokens on DeFi are all working in concert to support price levels.

BTC meanwhile has hit above $50,000 for the first time since mid-May. The cryptoasset started the week with falls to below $47,000 before rallying midweek above $50,000. In early trading today BTC has surged again, closing in on $52,000.

ETH inflation rate down sharply

The rate of inflation on cryptoasset ether (ETH) is plummeting according to crypto research firm Delphi Digital.

For the first three weeks of August, according to the Delphi Digital data, ETH’s inflation rate hovered just below 3%. This rose to touch 3% around 23 August before collapsing totally by the end of the month.

ETH’s inflation rate was around 0.5% as of 31 August. This is largely down to the increase in burning of ETH tokens, with some 150,000 ETH burned since the EIP 1559 ‘London hard fork’ was implemented.

The downward movement of ETH’s inflation rate is indicative of earlier predictions that the cryptoasset could become deflationary. As more ETH in the network are burned, scarcity will increase. As this scarcity rises, it could have significant further effects on price levels.

Twitter may soon accept BTC for digital tips

Twitter users could soon be able to tip their favourite tweeters in BTC or ETH.

The firm’s product lead Kayvon Beykpour confirmed that the social media network is looking to integrate Bitcoin’s Lightning Network to the platform.

Twitter has begun testing a new feature for content creators on the platform called ‘tip jars’ where users with over 10,000 followers can monetise their tweets and receive tips from followers.

Inclusion of the Lightning Network would allow users to tip content creators in BTC.

85,000 Swiss merchants can now take crypto payments

Payments provider Worldline has made crypto payments accessible to 85,000 merchants in Switzerland.

The service is set to be provided by Worldline in partnership with Bitcoin Suisse, a regulated Swiss crypto trading platform.

The partnership will allow some 85,000 Swiss merchants accept payments in bitcoin or ether at the point of sale. For prices quoted in the local fiat currency the Swiss Franc (CHF), instant price conversions to BTC or ETH can be made using the WL Crypto Payments mobile app.

 

This is a marketing communication and should not be taken as investment advice, personal recommendation, or an offer of, or solicitation to buy or sell, any financial instruments. This material has been prepared without having regard to any particular investment objectives or financial situation, and has not been prepared in accordance with the legal and regulatory requirements to promote independent research. Any references to past performance of a financial instrument, index or a packaged investment product are not, and should not be taken as a reliable indicator of future results.

All contents within this report are for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. eToro makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared utilizing publicly-available information.

Cryptoassets are volatile instruments which can fluctuate widely in a very short timeframe and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Other than via CFDs, trading cryptoassets is unregulated and therefore is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework. Your capital is at risk.

 

Image by Miloslav Hamřík from Pixabay

Bitcoin has broken out above $50,000 for the first time since May this year as PayPal announces crypto buying and selling in the UK.

PayPal has trailed its launch of crypto buying and selling in the UK for some time but has today announced its intention to allow UK-based users to buy and sell crypto tokens from this week. Users will be able to hold a basket of four cryptoassets – bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin and bitcoin cash, but it is unclear as of yet whether the firm will allow users to make payments in said cryptos.

The price of BTC has been on a rapid rebound since late July in what has been a rollercoaster ride for the cryptoasset in 2021.

BTC began last week trading in the mid $46,000 range before trading down to $44,000 by Thursday. It has since staged another late-week surge, rising from a low of $44,177 to trading around $50,147 at the time of writing.

Ethereum had a similarly tumultuous week, slumping from just below $3,300 to below the $3,000 level midweek. It has since rallied however and is now trading around $3,325 – its highest level since late May this year.

Facebook poised to launch crypto wallet

Facebook’s much-trailed crypto development looks set to jump start with the launch of its ‘Novi’ digital wallet.

The social media platform has touted its move into crypto for some time now but the project has gone through various permutations, and names.

Its stable coin, now named ‘Diem’ is still in the works. But the company’s chief of financial services David Marcus said the firm was poised to launch the accompanying digital wallet, dubbed ‘Novi’.

Facebook initially launched its crypto project under the name of ‘Libra’. From the getgo, it was touted as a stable coin project that would allow people to send money around the world without the need for third-party oversight.

The project has been plagued by setbacks though, with privacy, regulatory and design issues. Initially, the token was set to be backed by a portfolio of fiat currencies, but this has since been rolled back to solely include the US Dollar.

Wells Fargo launches private bitcoin fund

US banking giant Wells Fargo has registered its own bitcoin fund with regulators.

Per CoinDesk, the firm’s new fund is a passive bitcoin tracker, only available to high-net-worth clients. The revelation comes in the wake of the news that JPMorgan also filed with the SEC for a bitcoin fund on Thursday.

Major institutional players are now making clear steps into crypto. JPMorgan and Wells Fargo join Goldman Sachs and BNY Mellon in expanding their crypto remits for clients.

The moves reflect a developing demand for crypto from a different kind of demographic to that of more tech-savvy online exchanges. Banks in the US were only given permission to hold cryptoassets in July 2020. The expansion since then of crypto operations among the big institutions seems to have begun to gather pace.

AUDIO token surges after TikTok tie-up

Decentralised music streaming protocol Audius has seen its governance token surge in value after a tie-up with social media platform TikTok was announced.

TikTok opted for Audilus for the technology behind its new ‘Sounds’ library, intended to simplify the app’s music selection.

The Audilus platform’s governance token AUDIO has since surged in value, trading around $1.60 pre-announcement but reaching over $3.50. The token has however been more highly valued this year, seeing a 2021 high of $4.32.

The AUDIO token is user-staked to secure the Audilus platform. Holders receive a share of network fees, governance rights and access to artists’ tokens.

This is a marketing communication and should not be taken as investment advice, personal recommendation, or an offer of, or solicitation to buy or sell, any financial instruments. This material has been prepared without having regard to any particular investment objectives or financial situation, and has not been prepared in accordance with the legal and regulatory requirements to promote independent research. Any references to past performance of a financial instrument, index or a packaged investment product are not, and should not be taken as a reliable indicator of future results.

All contents within this report are for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. eToro makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared utilizing publicly available information.

Cryptoassets are volatile instruments that can fluctuate widely in a very short timeframe and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Other than via CFDs, trading cryptoassets is unregulated and therefore is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework. Your capital is at risk.

 

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Bitcoin has once again passed the key milestone of $50K after a week that saw some of the biggest global corporations make moves on the digital asset market.

Retail giant Walmart posted a job for a crypto expert to investigate virtual payment options, Facebook announced that their crypto wallet is approaching its launch date, and Microsoft said it is considering using Ethereum to counter-piracy. Meanwhile, the second-largest U.S. mortgage lender revealed plans to accept cryptoasset payments for home loans.

This headline-grabbing news helped the market shrug off an exchange hack in Japan, and prices moved up across the board. Top-performing assets include Cardano, which rose to an all-time high ahead of the upcoming Alonzo upgrade, and Algorand which added 25% on the launch of a tokenized real estate marketplace.

This Week’s Highlights

• Cardano becomes third-biggest crypto ahead of Alonzo upgrade
• Facebook’s crypto wallet prepares for launch

Cardano becomes third-biggest crypto ahead of Alonzo upgrade

Cardano has risen rapidly through the ranks this past week, toppling Tether and BNB to become the third-largest cryptoasset by market cap.

The Ethereum rival ADA added 40% to reach new all-time highs, making a total increase of over 100% in August so far. This comes ahead of the highly-anticipated Alonzo upgrade, which is expected to deploy long-awaited smart contract functionality to Cardano on September 12th.

According to data from CoinShares, some of Cardano’s price rally could be driven by institutional investors. The cryptoasset management firm’s latest report shows that Cardano has attracted institutional inflows of $39 million, year-to-date.

Facebook’s crypto wallet prepares for launch

Facebook’s Novi wallet, designed for its Blockchain-based stablecoin Diem, is “ready to come to market” according to co-founder David Marcus.

The project, formerly known as Calibra, aims to challenge traditional payment solutions with “an interoperable digital wallet that will enable people, and eventually small businesses, to move money [via the cryptoasset Diem] around domestically and internationally in a quick and affordable way.”

Given Facebook’s dominance in the social media sphere, traders will be watching closely to see whether the project can bring some of Facebook’s enormous global user base into the cryptoasset ecosystem.

The week ahead

Excitement is building after Bitcoin blasted through $50k. Beyond this key psychological threshold, all-time highs at $65k are almost within reach.

In the coming week, however, Fed officials will meet for their annual symposium to discuss potentially tapering the monetary stimulus that is widely thought to have powered stocks to record highs. Any suggestion of changes in policy could catalyze volatility in Bitcoin, which according to research from Santiment has correlated “quite strongly” with the S&P 500 over the last month.

 

Wikimedia Commons

Cryptoassets continued their surge last week, with Cardano (ADA) a standout performer. ADA started the week at $1.41 but has since soared, reaching over $2.24 on Saturday – a 96% rise. At the time of writing the cryptoasset is trading around $2.14.

Bitcoin continues to edge back towards the $50,000 mark as it maintains its steady recovery. Having started the week below $44,000, BTC at times traded above $48,000 as its rally progressed with some volatility. It is now trading around $47,431.

Ethereum is also now trading comfortably above $3,000 following its long-awaited London hard fork two weeks ago. ETH started the week around $2,950, but despite a blip on Friday has not since fallen below $3,000. It is currently trading around $3,284.

US infrastructure bill approved

The $1trn infrastructure bill passed through the US Senate last Tuesday, meaning cryptoasset tax proceeds could soon help fund the US’ ambitious infrastructure requirements, with plans to raise $28bn in the next 10 years.

The bill contains new regulations for US-based crypto firms to extend the definitions of what defines a crypto ‘brokerage’ to include exchanges, which will set new higher level requirements for tax reporting of users. The bill is now set to head to the House of Representatives for further scrutiny.

Whilst rumours continue to persist about future regulation of the market, the Federal Reserve is still keen to foster faster payments by developing its own digital currency pegged to the US dollar, highlighting enthusiasm for digital payments.

Messi’s ground-breaking new contract leads way for further crypto exposure

Footballer Lionel Messi’s move to Paris Saint-Germain has caused ripples in the crypto world. Part of his salary will be paid in a type of cryptocurrency, in a move which could be followed by other clubs.

Messi will be rewarded with fan tokens, provided by Socios.com, allowing holders to vote on some decisions related to the club. Whilst these tend to be relatively minor issues, it hands power to holders to help drive the change they want to see.

For example, PSG has previously allowed fan token holders to choose motivational messages which go on the dressing room wall before key games, goal of the season, end of player season awards and receive personal video calls from star players.

Similar to other cryptoassets fan tokens can be sold or exchanged, allowing holders to release capital. However, much like other cryptoassets, price swings are common, leading some financial regulators to issue warnings to investors.

PSG’s scheme saw a surge in the days preceding the move, with trading volumes exceeding $1.2bn – demonstrating fans’ excitement about the signing.

AMC to accept payment in bitcoin

AMC, the US cinema chain that owns Odeon, has announced that by the end of the year it will allow customers to pay for film tickets and concessions in bitcoin.

Whilst it is unclear whether this will apply to Europe, AMC has apparently been exploring the technology and “how else AMC can participate in this new burgeoning cryptocurrency universe”.

AMC follows in the footsteps of Microsoft, Wikipedia and US mobile operator AT&T by accepting the world’s largest cryptoasset as payment. Shares jumped 6% following the announcement before falling back.

AMC has surged 1,500% this year following strong retail investor interest and its unwitting involvement in the Wall St Bets Reddit run.

$600m stolen…then returned in Poly Network hack

A bizarre chain of events has seen the biggest ever cryptoasset heist – before the funds were returned just a few days later.

The Poly Network saw $600m stolen after hackers exploited a vulnerability in its smart contract. The hackers were seemingly able to override the contract instructions for each of the three blockchains, before diverting the funds to three wallet addresses – which were later traced and published by the Poly Network.

But in under 48 hours the hackers started transferring assets back to the Network into a wallet which both parties controlled. Whilst there is a debate as to the motivation behind the attack (white hat hacking or pivoting due to difficulties laundering it), it rounds off a bizarre set of events which may prompt many blockchains to test their security levels in the coming days.

This is a marketing communication and should not be taken as investment advice, personal recommendation, or an offer of, or solicitation to buy or sell, any financial instruments. This material has been prepared without having regard to any particular investment objectives or financial situation, and has not been prepared in accordance with the legal and regulatory requirements to promote independent research. Any references to past performance of a financial instrument, index or a packaged investment product are not, and should not be taken as a reliable indicator of future results.

All contents within this report are for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. eToro makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared utilizing publicly-available information.

Cryptoassets are volatile instruments which can fluctuate widely in a very short timeframe and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Other than via CFDs, trading cryptoassets is unregulated and therefore is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework. Your capital is at risk.

 

Image by Mediamodifier from Pixabay

The total value of the cryptoasset market has once again risen above $2 trillion, as altcoins including Cardano and XRP race to reclaim all-time highs.

This bullish price action comes in defiance of negative headlines. The Senate passed the infrastructure bill on Tuesday without changing the requirements for crypto tax reporting, and on the same day $611 million was stolen in the largest DeFi hack in history (though the culprit has since returned the funds). Nevertheless, traders were not concerned, and multiple altcoins are now flashing high double-digit weekly gains.

Beating the 3% increases of Bitcoin and Ethereum, XRP jumped almost 60% after forming a new partnership, closely followed by Cardano and Ethereum Classic with almost 50% gains, and Dogecoin which leaped 33% as Mark Cuban tweeted support for the memecoin.

This Week’s Highlights

• Cardano climbs 45% ahead of major upgrade
• S. infrastructure bill passes Senate

Cardano climbs 45% ahead of major upgrade

Ethereum competitor Cardano topped $2 last week as the developers scheduled a highly-anticipated upgrade.

Cardano project lead Nigel Hemsley announced a September 12 release date for the planned “Alonzo” upgrade. This would disarm critics by bringing long-awaited smart contract functionality to the network, potentially allowing Cardano to claim its own slice of the DeFi pie and capitalize on the NFT mania currently sweeping over the crypto market.

Elsewhere in the proof-of-stake ecosystem, rival network Polygon (formerly Matic Network) jumped 30% after acquiring Ethereum scaling solution Hermez Network.

U.S. infrastructure bill passes senate

While the battle may have been lost as U.S. senators failed to amend onerous tax reporting rules in the infrastructure bill, the market appears to be expecting that crypto will eventually win the war.

Prices continued to rise this week, despite the bill passing the Senate on Tuesday. Commentators suggest this could be because the event is being seen as a coming-of-age moment for the crypto industry, which is long-term bullish.

In his recap of the infrastructure bill, Compound lawyer Jake Chervinsky said that “ultimately we will look back on this as one of the most positive events, holistically speaking, that we’ve had so far in terms of the industry’s interactions with the government.”

Week ahead

As buyers push prices upwards, all-time highs are appearing on the short-term horizon for several of the top cryptoassets.

In the week ahead, Bitcoin faces resistance at $48K. How the leading cryptoasset reacts at this level could determine if the rally of recent weeks is just a temporary “dead cat bounce“, or a continuation of the bull market.

According to data from Glassnode, Bitcoin is flowing out of exchanges at similar levels to the beginning of the year, suggesting traders could be accumulating funds in anticipation of another rally higher.

Image by Buffik from Pixabay

Fear is gripping the crypto market after comments from Tesla billionaire Elon Musk sparked a 20% sell-off for Bitcoin.

Prices fell to a low of $42K on Monday as the billionaire voiced concerns about the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining, before hinting at a sale of Tesla’s treasury allocation. Then, as irate bitcoiners publicly canceled their cybertruck orders in protest, he clarified that “Tesla has not sold any Bitcoin”— triggering a bounce back towards $45K.

Cardano was among the few coins that managed to escape the downtown. The Proof-of-Stake cryptoasset hit new highs above $2 as Musk’s mischief spooked a market that was already reeling from U.S. inflation figures and a U.S. investigation into crypto exchange Binance.

This Week’s Highlights

• Tesla U-turn sparks Bitcoin sell-off
• Cardano defies downturn to hit all-time highs

Tesla U-turn sparks Bitcoin sell-off

The self-proclaimed technoking triggered the market sell-off with an announcement that Tesla will suspend the acceptance of Bitcoin for purchases on environmental grounds. Though the car company plans to keep the cryptoasset on its corporate balance sheet.

“We are concerned about the rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions” said Musk, sending Bitcoin below $45K for the first time since February.

Yet while prices were quick to react, the debate over Bitcoin’s environmental impact appears to have just begun. Norwegian oil billionaire Kjell Inge Rokke told Bloomberg that Musk’s latest comments “haven’t changed anything” for his company Aker, which added Bitcoin as a treasury asset in March and is now considering accepting the cryptoasset as a means of payment.

Cardano defies downturn to hit all-time highs

As Musk’s comments sparked fierce debate over Bitcoin’s carbon footprint, Cardano stayed remarkably buoyant.

The smart contract platform, which boasts green credentials with an energy-efficient Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, reached all-time highs above $2 early on Sunday. Other blockchains promising a greener crypto economy, however, were not so lucky: Tezos and  Ethereum both dropped around 20% over the week.

Growing interest in Cardano could be due to billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban, who challenged founder Charles Hoskinson to demonstrate the cryptoasset’s value in a heated Twitter discussion on Sunday.

The week ahead

Following Bitcoin’s retreat from the all-time high around $65K, the Crypto Sentiment Index is flashing Extreme Fear after months of Greed.

Yet while this market correction is the biggest pullback of the year so far, the 35% drop is consistent with 2017 bull market corrections of between 30 and 40%.

Looking ahead, traders will be now waiting to see if the pullback has recharged Bitcoin’s batteries for a robust rally back towards all-time highs, or if the dip has seriously damaged market momentum.

Cryptoassets are volatile instruments which can fluctuate widely in a very short timeframe and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Other than via CFDs, trading cryptoassets is unregulated and therefore is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework. Your capital is at risk.

 

The price of bitcoin has tumbled over 25% in the last seven days, hitting a low of $42,025 over the weekend, as investors took profits en masse.

Bitcoin, as well as peers such as Ethereum which have also slumped by similar amounts in the last week, has sold off after a staggering run year-to-date which had seen it double since the start of 2021.

Amid a wave of profit-taking last week, much of the reason for the sell-off is being placed on Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO, after a series of tweets about bitcoin, its energy usage, and the company’s position in the cryptoasset.

‘We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel,” Musk tweeted.

‘Cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels and we believe it has a promising future but this cannot come at great cost to the environment.

‘Tesla will not be selling any Bitcoin and we intend to use it for transactions as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy. We are also looking at other cryptocurrencies that use <1% of Bitcoin’s energy/transaction.’

Nonetheless, Musk himself seemed to counter many rumours this morning after clarifying that Tesla had not sold any of its bitcoin recently.

Having bottomed at $42,000, bitcoin bounced back to trade at $44,300 this morning, with Ethereum at $3,376 having dropped to $3,095 at its low point.

Facebook to launch US stable coin

The group behind Facebook’s Libra project plans to launch a US dollar stablecoin after scaling back its global ambitions amid resistance to its plans in Switzerland.

The Diem Association, which was formerly known as Facebook’s Libra project and is made up of 26 financial firms and non-profits, said it was relocating its main operations from Switzerland to the United States in a statement.

It has said it will now run a blockchain-based payment system that allows real-time transfer of Diem stablecoins, with plans to register as a money services business with the US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

Stablecoins, digital currencies pegged to a fiat currency, are being used increasingly via numerous networks. California-based Silvergate Bank will issue the Diem USD stablecoin and manage the Diem USD reserve, with a pilot expected before a full rollout.

“We are committed to a payment system that is safe for consumers and businesses, makes payments faster and cheaper,” the association said.

EOS doubles after raising $10bn to launch exchange

EOS coin saw its price double in a day last week after the company behind the coin said it had raised $10bn to build a next-generation cryptocurrency exchange.

Block.one, the company behind the EOSIO software, said it was launching a subsidiary to create the crypto exchange, with billionaire backers including Peter Thiel among the investors in the project.

The platform, called Bullish Global, will be a blockchain-based exchange and is set to be released this year.

“Bullish’s balance sheet is strong, and its vertical integration offers stability and liquidity to the cryptocurrency space. I’m happy to join Bullish as an investor and advisor as it gets started on a long and fruitful journey,” Thiel was quoted as saying.

EOS’ price soared in response, jumping to a peak above $14 last week, before retreating back to trade around the $10.50 mark. It started in May priced at just $6.

eBay to allow NFTs on the platform

eBay has said it will allow the sales of NFTs on its platform in the future amid a recent frenzy for the tokenised collectibles.

The e-commerce company is expected to slowly build up sales of digital collectibles on the platform, starting with a smaller group of verified sellers.

“In the coming months, eBay will add new capabilities that bring blockchain-driven collectibles to our platform,” eBay exec Jordan Sweetnam told Reuters.

eBay has already invested heavily in infrastructure for physical collectibles like trading cards, as well as items like sneakers and watches which they help verify for buyers.

The NFT market shows little sign of slowing, with British auction house Christie’s selling nine CryptoPunk NFTs for nearly $17 million last week, according to a tweet posted on May 12.

Ethereum founder Vitalik donates $1.2bn to India relief fund

Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin has pledged $1.2 billion to India’s Covid-19 relief fund.

The 27-year-old programmer, who created Ethereum in 2013, transferred new Dogecoin copycat Shiba Inu tokens which had been gifted into his Etherscan public wallet – which had a combined worth of more than $1bn dollars – to the India Covid Relief Fund.

Buterin handed the assets over to a relief project established by Polygon chief Sandeep Nailwal who created the fund last month in response to the coronavirus crisis in India.

Buterin had already personally gifted $600,000 to help kick off the fund previously.

 

This is a marketing communication and should not be taken as investment advice, personal recommendation, or an offer of, or solicitation to buy or sell, any financial instruments. This material has been prepared without having regard to any particular investment objectives or financial situation, and has not been prepared in accordance with the legal and regulatory requirements to promote independent research. Any references to past performance of a financial instrument, index or a packaged investment product are not, and should not be taken as a reliable indicator of future results.

All contents within this report are for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. eToro makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared utilizing publicly-available information.

Cryptoassets are volatile instruments which can fluctuate widely in a very short timeframe and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Other than via CFDs, trading cryptoassets is unregulated and therefore is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework. Your capital is at risk.

 

Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

Bitcoin and Ethereum surged to hit simultaneous all-time highs early last week, tapping $65K and $2.5K respectively as Litecoin rose above $300 for the first time in three years.

Yet the buying party came to an abrupt end when the highly-anticipated Coinbase listing failed to push prices even higher. Euphoria turned to fear as traders sold the news, prompting Bitcoin to plunge 15% before bouncing.

When the dust had settled, Bitcoin was down 5% on the week. Ethereum fared slightly better with 5% gains, and NEO managed to dodge the destruction completely by rising 90%.

This Week’s Highlights

• 15% plunge triggers record liquidations
• Pro-crypto Gary Gensler becomes SEC chairman

15% plunge triggers record liquidations

 As Bitcoin entertained the world with a cliff diving performance on Saturday evening, $7.6 billion in long positions were wiped out in an hour as highly leveraged traders were taken out of the market.

Analysts offered several different explanations for the sudden drop. The anti-climactic Coinbase listing is one, along with a sudden electricity blackout in China’s Xinjiang region which took out a sizable proportion of the Bitcoin network. Turkey’s ban on using crypto for payment was also blamed for the fall, and an unsubstantiated rumor that the U.S. Treasury was planning to crack down on money laundering carried out through digital assets.

Pro-crypto Gary Gensler becomes SEC chairman

As Turkey imposes harsh restrictions on cryptocurrencies and India looks set to follow, the U.S. could be moving in the opposite direction.

On Saturday, pro-crypto regulator Gary Gensler was sworn in as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), making him the top cop on Wall Street.

Gensler, who previously taught a course called ‘Blockchain and Money’ at MIT, has demonstrated a deep understanding of cryptoassets, and is widely expected to take a forward-looking approach to the market. He may even help push the SEC towards finally approving a Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF).

The week ahead

After the sudden downturn, Bitcoin has rebounded to once again trade around $57K, clocking 10% growth from the low.

To confirm continuation of the bull market, traders will be looking for a recovery towards all-time highs. This would be supported by macroeconomic forces, with U.S. inflation data released last week showing a faster rise than expected in March.

On the flipside, failure to continue bouncing could suggest that the sudden downturn has significantly damaged bullish momentum.

 

Image by David Mark from Pixabay

 

Bitcoin prices slumped over the weekend, falling to a low of $50,000 on Sunday before rebounding, as a flash crash impacted leading cryptoassets.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP, as well as most other major altcoins, were all hit by a sudden flash crash early Sunday morning, sending prices down sharply.

Power outages in China, which consequently caused a huge drop in the bitcoin network hashrate, are being cited as a potential reason for the big pullback.

Prices have climbed off lows overnight, with bitcoin back above $56,000 this morning, and peers such as Cardano also recovering, although both are around 10% off all-time highs.

Ethereum hard fork sends price to record high

Ethereum surged above $2,500 a coin last week as its long-awaited Berlin hard fork went live.

The second-largest cryptoasset by market capitalisation introduced the hard fork to try to solve a significant issue for the network – high gas fees. Gas fees have shot up in the last 12 months, with users seeing transaction costs rocket from below 10 cents to a high of $40 in February of this year.

Currently, the average fee is close to $19, but this is far higher than the minimal fees charged by peers such as Cardano and Algorand.

The network’s hard fork has changed the algorithm that calculates gas fees, with the aim being to reduce costs that may otherwise push users on to other platforms.

Having surged to a new high, this weekend’s flash crash has seen the price fall back, leaving it trading around $2,250.

Coinbase lists on main market via IPO

Coinbase has completed its IPO in the US as the cryptoasset market continues to enter mainstream financial markets.

Ben Laidler, eToro’s global market analyst, said: “The Coinbase IPO is significant for a few reasons. Firstly, it reflects the institutionalisation and development of the crypto industry. “

“Secondly, it demonstrates how public markets are changing. We’ve seen a record number of US IPOs raising money through non-traditional approaches, such as direct listings and SPACs. “

“Lastly, it gives people a vehicle to gain exposure to the crypto market without having to invest in cryptoassets themselves. The stock can be included in pension funds and trackers that previously could not directly include cryptoassets, thereby further opening up the crypto market to an entirely new pool of capital.”

Binance coin completes biggest ever burn

The Binance platform has completed its 15th quarterly binance coin (BNB) token burn, destroying more than a million coins with a value of $5.8bn.

The burn comes after a mammoth rally for the coin, which has doubled in a month and climbed by some 3,492% in a year.

“This burn effectively took USD 595,314,380 worth of BNB out of circulation forever. With this recent burn, the total supply of BNB has officially decreased from 170,532,825 BNB to 169,432,937 BNB. This 15th quarterly BNB burn is the highest-ever in US dollar terms,” CEO Changpeng Zhao said.

NYSE launches “first trade” NFTs

The New York Stock Exchange has said it will launch “First Trade” NFTs which commemorate the true first trade of Spotify, Snowflake, Unity, DoorDash, Roblox and Coupang.

During a company’s public debut, the exchange processes over 350 billion order, quote and trade messages across its markets on its busiest days.

Each message is recorded on the exchange’s digital ledger, and it is these that the exchange plans to make public in the form of NFT’s, following similar moves by a variety of different businesses across the world of sports and entertainment.

NYSE President Stacey Cunningham said in a LinkedIn post: “Only one of those messages marks the NYSE First Trade: the exact moment a company became public, creating an opportunity for others to share in their success.”

“The NYSE First Trade NFT memorializes that unique moment in a company’s history.”

TIME Magazine partners with Greyscale

TIME Magazine’s President has announced the world-famous publication is partnering with Grayscale Investments to produce a video series on cryptoassets.

In yet another endorsement of the long-term potential of cryptoassets, TIME Magazine said it had partnered with Grayscale Investments to not only launch the educational video series, but also be paid in bitcoin, as well as committing to keep the cryptoasset on its balance sheet.

Founded in 1923, TIME Magazine has over 20 million subscribers worldwide, and is one of the most recognisable publications globally.

Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein tweeted on Monday that he was “thrilled” to be partnering with TIME magazine, adding that the deal to pay TIME in bitcoin was “a first for our media partnerships”.

Societe Generale issues first structured product security token

French investment banking giant Societe Generale (SocGen) has issued the first structured product as a security token, directly registered on the Tezos public blockchain.

SocGen, which launched the token via its Forge division, says the transaction demonstrates the legal, regulatory and operational feasibility of issuing more complex financial instruments on a public blockchain.

The drive behind the token is to use the increased efficiency and fluidity of financial transactions that blockchain can bring. SocGen said the new structured product benefited from an unprecedented capacity of product structuration, a shortened time-to-market, automated corporate actions, increased transparency, and speed in transactions and settlements.

The launch follows a covered bond security token issuance on Ethereum, settled in euros, in 2019, and a second such issuance settled in CBDC issued by Banque de France last year.

This is a marketing communication and should not be taken as investment advice, personal recommendation, or an offer of, or solicitation to buy or sell, any financial instruments. This material has been prepared without having regard to any particular investment objectives or financial situation, and has not been prepared in accordance with the legal and regulatory requirements to promote independent research. Any references to past performance of a financial instrument, index or a packaged investment product are not, and should not be taken as a reliable indicator of future results.

All contents within this report are for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. eToro makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared utilizing publicly-available information.

Cryptoassets are volatile instruments that can fluctuate widely in a very short timeframe and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Other than via CFDs, trading cryptoassets is unregulated and therefore is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework. Your capital is at risk.

 

Image by WorldSpectrum from Pixabay

As corporations like Visa and PayPal join Wall Street banks in expanding their crypto offerings, Ethereum is setting new all-time highs above $2K.

Prices began rising on Wednesday as the market was uplifted by crypto-themed April Fool’s pranks. The Teletubbies tweeted about Bitcoin to advertise their own imaginary cryptocurrency TubbyCoin, and long-term critic Peter Schiff briefly admitted that he was wrong about the cryptoasset.

While Bitcoin wasn’t fooled, Ethereum soared as the week progressed; sparking a mega rally among smart contract platforms. TRON doubled in value, EOS rose almost 50%, and BNB increased 25%.

This Week’s Highlights

• Visa and PayPal tighten crypto embrace
• Wall Street banks expand Bitcoin offerings

Visa and PayPal tighten crypto embrace

Ethereum’s stellar performance could be credited to integrations with the biggest global payment processors.

Visa said last Monday that it will begin accepting cryptocurrency at millions of its global merchants, and will be using the Ethereum-based stablecoin US Dollar Coin (USDC), to settle transactions.

Not to be outdone, PayPal said it will also allow U.S. customers to pay online merchants using crypto, marking another key milestone in the mainstream adoption of cryptoassets.

Wall Street banks expand Bitcoin offerings

Wall Street megabanks Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are diving deeply into digital assets with new Bitcoin investment products.

Goldman announced plans this week to offer multiple crypto investment vehicles, citing demand from “a large contingent of clients.” Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley has said it will give a dozen of its mutual funds the ability to invest indirectly in Bitcoin.

This rapid pace of adoption on Wall Street reflects what the Chief Investment Officer of Soros Fund Management has identified as an “inflection point”, triggered by growing fears of inflation.

Week ahead

With global markets optimistic after the S&P 500 surpassed 4,000 for the first time, it is easy to imagine both Bitcoin and Ethereum roaring to new highs in the week to come.

For the moment however, Bitcoin is still held back by selling pressure at $60K. As this level has now been tapped a handful of times, we could expect an eventual break to unleash a powerful rally upwards, adding to the bullish sentiment created by Ethereum finally breaking through $2K.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay