PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- BTC ($12,985): +13% / +80%
- ETH ($408): +8% / +211%
- XRP ($0.25): +4% / +31%
- YFI ($14,512): -3% / +1,661%*
- Crypto Market Cap ($394B): +9% / +106%
- BTC Dominance: 61%
* YTD returns from launch date of 7/20/20
STABLECOIN MARKET CAP CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- Tether ($16.3B): +3% / +293%
- USDC ($2.8B): +3% / +436%
THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO
- PayPal users in the US will soon be able to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrencies starting with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin. Crypto company Paxos is handling trading and custody on behalf of the company. PayPal users will be able to use their crypto assets as a funding source for purchases from PayPal's 26 million global merchants. Merchants will receive payments in fiat though, so PayPal users will have to pay high fees for converting their crypto to fiat on the platform (currently 2.3% for transactions below $100). Link.
- Kik has agreed to pay a $5 million penalty to the SEC, settling the lawsuit related to its 2017 $98 million ICO. Link. After paying the fine, remaining Kin tokens will be free to trade on exchanges. Link.
- Several major Filecoin miners halted or significantly reduced their mining power since the network officially went live last week. The slowdown is due to Filecoin's economic model that requires initial pledge collateral while block rewards are vested linearly over 180 days. Shortly thereafter Filecoin agreed to allow miners to access 25% of their block rewards immediately without vesting. The remaining 75% vests linearly over 180 days. Miners can either re-pledge FIL to increase their computing power or sell in the public markets. Link. Link.
- Blockchain infrastructure company Bison Trails introduced Query & Transaction (QT) nodes for PoS and PoW blockchain networks. This infrastructure serves anyone building products and services in blockchain, who need the ability to read and write nodes. QT is available across 40 networks, and over 20 protocols, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Flow, Polkadot, and Libra. Link.
- The CME bitcoin futures market overtook BInance Futures to become the second-largest BTC futures exchange. The growth was driven largely by institutional investors, who can't invest in unregulated derivatives on retail platforms like BitMEX and Binance. OKEx remains the largest platform, accounting for nearly 20% of total open interest. Link.
- The DoJ unsealed documents related to a Latin American drug-smuggling and money-laundering bust. The men charged allegedly used USD-pegged stablecoin, Tether, to bribe US government officials. Link.
- A collection of Batman art sold for $200,000 on NFT marketplace MakersPlace. The artwork came from DC comic artist Jose Delbo and crypto artist, Trevor Jones. All were animations or PNG files of the Dark Knight. Link.
- The Russian central bank has said it could pilot a digital ruble bye the end of 2021. Bank representatives have said that if a digital ruble is issued, it won't replace cash and non-cash or digital payment options. It would be considered a "third form of money" that would offer more confidentiality. Link.
- Coinbase has launched a Crypto Community Fund to award at least two grants to developers working on Bitcoin Core projects. The company is looking to provide year-long grants. Link.
- Bitstamp, one of the world's oldest crypto exchanges, is replacing its CEO with Julian Sawyer, a managing director of global crypto exchange Gemini. Link.
- Ken Kurson, a Ripple board member, was arrested on cyberstalking charges. He joined Ripple's board in 2017. Link.