PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- BTC ($15,929): +3% / +121%
- ETH ($445): -2% / +240%
- XRP ($0.27): +5% / +40%
- UNI ($3.83): +36% / +9% *
- YFI ($17,375): +14% / +2,009% **
- Crypto Market Cap ($454B): +2% / +137%
- BTC Dominance: 65%
* 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 ($17.9B): +4% / +332%
- USDC ($2.8B): -2% / +437%
THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO
- All US PayPal users can now start trading bitcoin on the platform. PayPal users can also use crypto at any of PayPal's 26 million merchants. Link.
- Chainalysis launches an asset realization program to help government agencies recover, store, and sell crypto assets they have seized. Link.
- Lebanon's central bank plans to launch its own digital currency in 2021. Link.
- Roughly $12 billion is allocated to the top 10 largest staking networks. Top 10 by value include: Polkadot, Cardano, Tezos, EOS, Algorand, Cosmos, Avalanche, Tron, Band Protocol, and Synthetix. Polkadot is the most popular with nearly $3 billion worth of DOT at stake. Staking allows Polkadot validators to earn passive income. Link.
- Crypto exchange Binance has launched an Ethereum mining pool. Binance Pool users can now mine both BTC and ETH. Binance will charge a 0.5% pool fee for ETH mining, which is half of what competitors like Ethermine and SparkPool are charging. Link.
- Deutsche Bank's research team believes Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) will replace cash in the long term. China and Sweden are furthest along in development. Link.
- The CFTC and SEC have hit crypto firms and founders with at least $198 million in penalties to date. A majority of the SEC's penalties have been related to ICOs while CFTC's largest enforcements have been related to fraud. Link.
- Bitpay launched Bitpay Send, a payroll service that allows companies to pay employees and contractors in crypto. Users won't need a bank account to leverage the platform, but will need access to a crypto wallet and have a Bitpay ID. Bitpay plans to charge a 1% fee for cross-border payments. Link.
- Payroll platform Deel now supports paying international workers in bitcoin, ether, or XRP with "near-instant" withdrawals. Deel has partnered with Coinbase to deliver the product. Link.
- Crypto exchange Binance has started blocking US users from accessing its exchange platform, almost a year after Binance originally said it would stop serving US residents. Binance is finally enforcing its rules. Binance recommends US residents transfer their assets to Binance US or other exchanges. Link.
- Bridgewater's Ray Dalio says he expects central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) to grow, but sees problems with bitcoin as a currency. He cited bitcoin's volatility as a major reason it wouldn't be successful. Link.
- Grayscale, which operates the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, bought over 15,000 bitcoin this week (valued at over $240 million). GBTC holds over 480,000 bitcoin (valued at over $7.5 billion), representing 62% of all bitcoin owned by publicly traded companies. Link.
- Galaxy Digital, the digital assets merchant bank, has acquired two specialized crypto trading firms: DrawBridge Lending and Blue Fire Capital. The acquisitions bring $150 million of structured products to Galaxy's $400 million AUM. Galaxy believes the acquisitions will introduce more institutions to crypto. Link.
- Zcash (ZEC) is going through its first-ever halving, an event where miner rewards are reduced by half. Link.
- Grin network was hit with a 51% attack, when an unknown mining group took over 55% of Grin's hashing power. The attackers were able to reorganize at least one forked block. When a group of miners controls more than half of a network's mining power, it can affect the organization of blocks, causing volatility in price or growing distrust in the protocol. Not all 51% attacks are nefarious though, sometimes its a byproduct of the broader mining market. Link.
- Albany Airport in NYC is experimenting with a "Wellness Trace App" to track cleanliness of surfaces and objects in the airport. Traveler's can scan QR codes to get info or report their own observations. The app was built using Microsoft Azure's enterprise blockchain. Link.