PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- BTC ($15,438): +12% / +114%
- ETH ($453): +16% / +246%
- XRP ($0.26): +7% / +33%
- UNI ($2.81): +22% / -20% *
- YFI ($15,220): +48% / +1,747% **
- Crypto Market Cap ($445B): +11% / +132%
- BTC Dominance: 64%
* YTD returns from launch date of 9/17/20
** YTD returns from launch date of 7/20/20
STABLECOIN MARKET CAP CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- Tether ($17.2B): +3% / +316%
- USDC ($2.9B): -2% / +449%
THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO
- Ethereum 2.0 is set to launch on December 1 as long as certain criteria are met. This represents the networks move towards a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism (Ethereum is currently using proof-of-work). A minimum deposit of 32 ETH (currently worth around $14,000) will be needed to stake on Eth 2.0 when it launches. The ETH will also need to be locked up for at least 2 years. The network will go live as long as there are 16,384 validators on the network staking at least 32 Ethereum each. Link.
- Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has sent 3,200 ETH (valued at roughly $1.5 million) for staking on ETH 2.0. So far only 39,000 ETH has been deposited out of the 524,000 total needed for the Eth 2.0 Genesis block to launch. If the minimum deposit isn't met, the Genesis block will be delayed for another 7 days, and so on until the funds are in place. Link.
- Ethereum miners generated $214 million in revenue in October, down from $321 million in September, a signal that the DeFi boom is slowing down. Link.
- The price of bitcoin has rallied over 40% since the start of Q4, increasing from $10,773 to over $15,000. The currency has outperformed many bank stocks, which have been up rallying strongly on the back of low interest rates and massive Fed stimulus. Link.
- PBOC says that the pilot test for the digital yuan has doubled transaction volumes over the past month, hitting 2 billion yuan ($300 million) across 4 million transactions. Since launching its pilot program in April, the PBOC has discovered 12,000 ways in which the digital yuan can be used, with bill payments, transportation, and government services highlighted as early focus areas. The digital yuan is designed to replace cash in circulation and give the regulatory authorities more control over a digitizing economy. Link.
- Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed is exploring the creation of a digital version of the US dollar. China is already pilot testing its own central bank digital currency. Link.
- The ECB is officially exploring issuing a digital euro. Link.
- Monthly trading volumes on decentralized exchanges declined 23%, falling to $18.5 billion from September's $24 billion. This wast he first decline since April 2020, when the DeFi boom took off. Two exchanges comprised the majority of October's volume: Uniswap (61%) and Curve (28%). Link.
- Crypto browser Brave has passed 20 million monthly active users and 7 million daily active users, a 2.3x increase year over year. Brave pays its users in BAT for watching web advertisements. Link.
- South Korea's Financial Services Commission is banning the use of privacy coins like Zcash, Monero, and Dash on exchanges. Enforcement will being in March 2021. Many exchanges already don't list privacy coins due to international regulations around KYC and AML. Link.
- Crypto exchange ShapeShift has delisted privacy-focused cryptocurrencies Monero and Dash from their platform because of regulatory concerns. Monero is frequently used by hackers, so the US Department of Homeland Security has contracted with multiple blockchain analytics companies to find ways to trace Monero transactions. Link.
- The SEC has raised the regulation crowdfunding limit from $1 million to $5 million. The rule allows companies, including blockchain and crypto companies, to sell restricted securities to both accredited and non-accredited investors. Link.
- The US is suing for the forfeiture of more than $1 billion in bitcoins it says are linked to the criminal marketplace Silk Road that was shut down seven years ago. The address was the world's fourth-richest and represents the largest crypto bust the government has ever made. Link.
- Failed crypto exchange QuadrigaCX has only $30 million in funds to cover $171 million worth of claims from customers. QuadrigaCX faced trouble in 2018, when its founder Gerald Cotten reportedly died with the only keys to the exchange's wallets. It was reported that Cotten had traded on customer accounts prior to his death. Link.
- A Uniswap trader spent $9,500 in fees on a $120 transaction after getting the gas limit and gas price input boxes confused in the Metamask wallet. Link.
- Square reported $1.6 billion in bitcoin revenue and $32 million in gross profit from its Cash App in Q3. This represents a 1,100% increase from Q3 2019 revenue. Link.