Tesla added the option to purchase electric vehicles with Bitcoin, the founder of Twitter sold his first tweet as an NFT, Microsoft unveiled a decentralised identity solution on the Bitcoin blockchain and other events of the week.
Bitcoin showed volatility. Altcoins led the week
Bitcoin rose above $58,000 early in the week but could not sustain the level.
During the subsequent decline, the price tested the $50,000 level but stayed above it.
By week’s end the price recovered, with Bitcoin trading in a range around $56,000 at the time of writing.
Over the past seven days, the top cryptocurrencies Filecoin and Theta Network posted gains of more than 50%. The former reached a new all-time high for its price near $140 on Saturday, March 27, while the latter set its price high on March 24 at $14.87 (per CoinGecko). The asset rose into the top 10 by market capitalization, pushing Chainlink out.
Solana and Kusama, among the top-30 altcoins, rose 30% and 23% respectively over the week.
The overall cryptocurrency market capitalization fell to around $1.78 trillion, with Bitcoin’s dominance index shrinking to 58.3%.
Tesla adds option to buy electric cars with Bitcoin
On Monday, March 24, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company has begun selling electric vehicles for Bitcoin.
For now, the option is available only to U.S. residents, but he said it will be available to buyers in other countries by the end of the year.
The company does not intend to convert the received cryptocurrency into fiat.
Aksakov proposed amendments to the law on digital assets
Anatoly Aksakov, head of the Russian State Duma committee on the financial market, proposed amendments to the law “On Digital Financial Assets.” He said this at the FinNext 2021 forum.
Aksakov argues that it is necessary to clarify the concept of digital currencies as laid out in the law, in light of the possible issuance of a digital ruble by the Bank of Russia:
“After all, a central bank digital currency is also a digital currency, and one must ensure that one definition applies to cryptocurrencies while the other applies to digital currencies backed by fiat money,” he emphasised.
Microsoft launched a decentralised identity system on the Bitcoin blockchain
The company Microsoft launched a decentralised identity solution (DID) for the ION identity on the Bitcoin blockchain with open-source code.
The technology will enable users to verify their identity to access certain information. The managed ION identifiers are decentralised; if an account is deleted, access to services linked to the account will remain.
Pavel Durov said Telegram raised over $1B
The founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, confirmed that the messenger raised over $1 billion through the sale of convertible bonds.
Half of the issue was snapped up by global investment funds, including Mubadala Investment Company and Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners from the UAE.
The remaining 50% was placed with European and Russian funds and banks.
Jack Dorsey sells NFT tweet for $2.91 million
Twitter founder Jack Dorsey sold his first tweet as a non-fungible token (NFT) for $2.91 million.
According to auction data on the Ethereum-based platform Valuables, the buyer was Sina Estavi, founder of Bridge Oracle.
Among other notable events in the booming sector:
- The NFT seller who sold almost $70 million Beeple called the segment a bubble and hurried to convert the proceeds into fiat. The artist also sold another NFT artwork for $6 million.
- TIME magazine put up for sale three provocative NFT covers. The lots were sold for 241 ETH ($385,000).
- The artwork by Sophia the robot was purchased for almost $700,000 as an NFT.
- The New York Times journalist Kevin Roose listed an NFT of a column about non-fungible tokens. The lot was bought for 350 ETH (over $560,000).
- Vitalik Buterin saw potential for NFT to become a public good.
- In Russia, comedian Mikhail Shatz announced sales of jokes as NFT, while the Hermitage announced a digital art exhibition of digital works.
Uniswap sets date for version 3 launch
The launch of Uniswap’s third version will take place on May 5.
Developers promised a suite of features for liquidity providers and end users, and to launch the Optimism layer-2 solution to scale and reduce transaction costs associated with the Ethereum network.
Billionaire Ray Dalio entertains the possibility of a Bitcoin ban in the US
Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, said there is a high likelihood of Bitcoin being banned in the U.S. The billionaire drew an analogy with the government’s confiscation of gold from the public during the Great Depression.
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson vehemently rejected this possibility.
“That ship has sailed. Bitcoin won’t be banned,” he said.
Mining stocks outpace Bitcoin fivefold
Over the past 12 months, Bitcoin surged 900%, while the shares of four public mining companies — Marathon Digital Holdings, Riot Blockchain, Hive Blockchain, and Hut 8 — jumped 5,000%.
Fundstrat analysts also found that a 1% rise in Bitcoin pushes these firms’ shares up by about 2.5%.
This year, not only mining stocks outperformed digital gold. For example, one of the rarest metals, iridium, rose 131% since the start of the year, outpacing the cryptocurrency, which gained 85%.
FATF includes DeFi in proposed crypto-industry guidelines
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) proposed amendments to its guidelines for the crypto industry. The draft places DeFi and NFT under regulator scrutiny.
The agency says DeFi projects fall under the category of virtual asset service providers (VASPs) and must comply with anti-money-laundering rules.
The amendments also include terminology relating to decentralized exchanges (DEX) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Singer Emin: many Russian artists are into cryptocurrencies
Many figures in Russia’s show business are involved in cryptocurrencies, said musician and first vice-president of the Crocus Group Emin Agalarov.
According to him, not all artists currently accept digital assets for performances, but many are involved in cryptocurrency because they understand how potentially lucrative it can be.
Agalarov himself accepts fees in Bitcoin and is involved in mining.
This week ForkLog also reported:
- Blockchain.com raised $300 million at a $5.2 billion valuation.
- A Reddit user lost his wife over the refusal to sell Bitcoin at $60,000.
- “The Wolf of Wall Street” Jordan Belfort: I was wrong about Bitcoin — the asset will reach $100,000.
- Fed Chair Jerome Powell: Bitcoin could replace gold, but not the U.S. dollar.
- Bloomberg strategist: the price of Bitcoin will surge to $400,000.
- Hydra sellers invented a “stash” system for anonymous Bitcoin withdrawals.
- Bitcoin enthusiasts built a boiler for mining cryptocurrency
- Chainalysis raised $100 million. The company was valued at $2 billion.
What else to read and watch
In a new ForkLog feature we explored how to create, acquire, and sell NFTs, answering fundamental questions along the way.
The magazine also looked into whether NFT sales should be taxed in the US, Russia, and Ukraine.
In traditional digests we collected notable weekly events in crypto-adjacent areas — cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.
An overview of the most interesting blockchain initiatives spans a longer period.
During the online conference “Bitcoin at the Max” speakers including Ton Weiss, Gleb Naumenko, Andrey Sobol, and others discussed cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, mining and more.
A brief overview of the speakers’ views is available in the magazine’s publication.
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