PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- BTC ($32,775): +5% / +13%
- ETH ($1,300): -2% / +76%
- XRP ($0.46): +71% / +110%
- UNI ($18): +65% / +266%
- Crypto Market Cap ($979B): +5% / +28%
- BTC Dominance: 62%
STABLECOIN MARKET CAP CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- Tether ($26.5B): +6% / +26%
- USDC ($5.8B): +5% / +50%
THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO
- Coinbase plans to go public via direct listing. The company filed a confidential S-1 with the SEC back in December. Link.
- VC firm Union Square Ventures announced that 30% of its $250 million 2021 Core Fund will be allocated to crypto-related investments. Link.
- Bitcoin inflows accounted for 97% of total crypto inflows so far in 2021 according to CoinShares. Link.
- The success of the GameStop (GME) short squeeze this week showed just how much control centralized trading platforms have. Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galxy Digital, called the GME situation 'a revolution that started with people not trusting central authority'. Link.
- Robinhood temporarily turned off instant buying power for crypto trades, after bitcoin soared over 20% in a day to just above $37,000. The decision came after Robinhood shut trading on certain stocks like GME, which rallied significantly and put the company in a liquidity crunch. Link.
- In a recent earnings report Visa CEO Alfred Kelly said the company is planning to let its users buy and sell cryptocurrencies that are viewed as 'digital gold' and 'predominantly held as assets' such as Bitcoin. Kelly also said that Visa views digital currencies operating on blockchains in the same light as traditional banking networks such as the Real-Time Payments (RTP) and Automated Clearing House (ACH) systems. Link.
- Decentralized exchange Uniswap saw over $30 billion in volume, up from $15 billion in December. The DEX ecosystem reported more than $60 billion in monthly trade volume, with Uniswap leading the pack. Link.
- The city of Miami uploaded a copy of the Bitcoin white paper to its municipal website. Mayor Francis Suarez has emphasized a commitment to 'turn Miami into a hub for crypto innovation'. Link. Colombia and Estonia have also linked to the Bitcoin white paper from their government sites. Link.
- Ray Dalio, CIO of the world's largest hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, called cryptocurrency 'one hell of an invention' and indicated his firm would look into cryptocurrencies. Just last year Dalio had called bitcoin too volatile to be a suitable store of wealth. Link.
- A recent survey from crypto exchange Gemini found that over 13% of the UK has invested in crypto. Over 91% of those surveyed had a household income of <100,000 pounds. Link.
- Crypto tracking app Blockfolio is rolling out zero-fee crypto trading on its platform. Trades will be powered by FTX, which acquired Blockfolio last year for $150 million. Blockfolio will now be competing with platforms like Robinhood and Coinbase. Link.
- XRP rallied this week as it became the new cryptocurrency of interest in the r/Wallstreetbets crypto-focused off-shot r/Satoshistreetbets. Link. Dogecoin soared over 800% this week as it also became the focus of r/Satoshistreetbets as users called it the 'crypto GME'. Elon Musk tweeted about the currency, making it rally even further. Link.
- Subreddit r/bitcoin added more than 150,000 new subscribers this week when it usually adds around 30,000 new members per week. Link.
- Investor Mark Cuban made the case for DeFi, by pointing out that Robinhood's business model takes fees that in DeFi would otherwise go to the user. In the case of GME, Robinhood was able to collect 30% fees on short sales. In DeFi that 30% APY would go directly to users. Link.