As another eventful week in the crypto market draws to a close, let’s look at some of the most significant developments that took place, from OpenSea’s Series C Fundraise to Vitalik Buterin’s proposed fee structure for Ethereum.
Bitcoin
NYC Mayor Makes A Pitch For Buying The Dip
Newly-elected New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been a vocal supporter of Bitcoin and blockchain technology. While speaking to CNBC’s Squawk Box, he confirmed that he would be taking his first three paychecks in office in Bitcoin. When the host pointed out the current drop in prices, Mayor Adams pitched for buying the dip, stating that sometimes, the best time to buy things is when the prices are down.
Crisis In Kazakhstan, But BTC Rolls On
Kazakhstan endured a week of turmoil as huge protests sparked widespread unrest across the country and affected Bitcoin mining operations, with mining coming to a complete standstill in the world’s 2nd-largest BTC mining hub. Mining operations were disrupted after authorities snapped the internet in the country, leading to the complete shutdown of all mining operations. The timing of the disruption is particularly bad, affecting several miners who had just moved there after China clamped down on mining operations. However, despite the unprecedented crisis in Kazakhstan, the Bitcoin network remained largely unaffected.
Raoul Pal, Goldman Sachs, and Kevin O’Leary Talk Bitcoin
Goldman Sachs, Raoul Pal, and millionaire investor Kevin O’Leary spoke about Bitcoin and what they expect in the future for the world’s largest cryptocurrency. Goldman Sachs stated that BTC would be making considerable gains in the near future, predicting that it could reach $138,000 in five years. Zach Pandl, co-head of global foreign exchange, rates, and emerging market strategy for Goldman Sachs, stated that he believed BTC would also capture market share from Gold, pushing the former’s value to $180,000.
Ethereum
A New Fee Structure For Ethereum?
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a new fee structure that could significantly improve upon the current fee structure. Buterin shared the proposal, titled “multidimensional EIP-1559,” in a blog post published by him. He acknowledged that resources in the EVM have different gas demands and suggested that his proposal could significantly improve the Ethereum gas fee market.
DeFi
Aave Launches Aave Arc
Aave has launched its permissioned lending and liquidity service christened Aave Arc, adding yet another service. Aave Arc will enable institutions to participate in DeFi and ensure that they do not fall on the wrong side of any regulatory or compliance issues. Parties that have gone through the necessary financial due diligence to borrow or lend crypto. It will function in the same way as Aave’s main protocol, but only approved parties will be allowed to participate.
Binance Adds SOL As Collateral Asset
Binance Loans program has added Solana’s native token SOL as a collateral asset. Through Binance Loans, users will be able to borrow crypto/tokens for different trading such as Spot, Futures, or Margin, or borrow for staking. The SOL token was added alongside Avalanche’s AVAX token, allowing users to access both SOL and AVAX, with tiered interest rates depending on a user’s VIP level.
Technology
Australian Open Makes Its Way To the Metaverse
One of the biggest tennis events of the year, the Australian Open, has announced its entry into the metaverse. It will officially be launching a collection of 6776 NFTs, with each corresponding to small plots on the Australian Open’s court surface. Along with the NFT collection, the tournament has also created a virtual world in Decentraland titled AO Decentraland. Through AO Decentraland, tennis fans can explore the tournament in detail in the metaverse and also interact with players and other fans.
Business
Mozilla Pauses Crypto Plans
Mozilla has put its plans to accept donations in crypto on ice after facing intense backlash from its community and co-founder Jamie Zawinski. Mozilla had tweeted an appeal to its users, asking for donations while adding that it would also accept donations in crypto. However, the latter led to stinging criticism as cryptocurrencies have also come under significant scrutiny because of their negative impact on the climate.
CryptoWire Announces Partnership With Google Cloud
Google Cloud and Tickerplant have teamed up to develop CryptoWire’s ecosystem, enabling the latter to scale and grow significantly. CryptoWire is looking to simplify the blockchain space, and its partnership with Google Cloud will enable the scaling of access to information related to blockchain and cryptocurrencies, giving users a trustworthy data management infrastructure.
Regulation
Users File Police Reports Against CoinSuper
CoinSuper has apparently been hit by a barrage of police reports after reports came in of withdrawals being frozen, with users unable to access $55,000 worth of tokens and money from their account. An inquiry by Bloomberg revealed that the police are investigating a case where an investor has been unable to access their funds since December last year.
China’s Central Bank Launches Pilot Version Of Wallet App
China’s Central bank has launched a pilot version of its wallet app, which is now available on Android and iOS. The bank hopes that the launch of the wallet app will give a significant push to its Central Bank Digital Currency among the youth. China has already held trial runs in several parts of the country, and prominent retailers have also started accepting the CBDC as payment.
Kosovo Issues Complete Ban On Cryptocurrency Mining
Cryptocurrency mining operations have been significantly impacted after the government issued a complete ban on cryptocurrency mining as part of strict measures it is taking to tide over an unprecedented energy crisis in the country.
NFT
OpenSea Valued At $13 Billion After Series C Funding Round
OpenSea has announced that it has raised $300 million after its Series C funding round, which valued it at an eye-watering $13 billion. Coatue Management and Paradigm led the round. OpenSea’s most recent valuation is a reflection of the platform’s unprecedented growth in recent months.
NFTs Make Their Way Into Campaign Finance
The Democratic Party of Korea has announced that it will be issuing NFTs to help in fundraising efforts during the upcoming presidential elections. The NFTs will be issued sometime this month, making the DPK the first political party in the world to utilize digital assets and collectibles in the political spectrum.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
