Date: 02/21/2021
Make Bitcoin “the internet’s currency.”
- Rapper-entrepreneur Jay-Z and Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and Square“In the new world #bitcoin increases in value, because math caps the monetary base at 21M BTC. The new world is eating the old world right now.”
Weekly Headline News
1. Crypto Long & Short: What Does Dogecoin Have to Do With Government Bans?
Coindesk
2. Here’s why altcoins are dropping as Bitcoin price inches closer to $50,000
Cointelegraph
3. Blockchain Bites: Bitcoin Volatility Hasn’t Shaken Out Institutions
Coindesk
4. Blockchain Bites: Why Buy an NFT?
Coindesk
5. Market Wrap: Bitcoin Briefly Above $56K, Ether Follows BTC’s Rally
Coindesk
6. Bitcoin’s Price Surge Accelerates After Passing Milestone of $1T Market Value
Coindesk
7. MicroStrategy Raises $1.05B in Latest Debt-for-Bitcoin Offering
Coindesk
8. North America’s First Bitcoin ETF Hits $165M Trade Volume in First Day: Report
Coindesk
9. Bitcoin accelerates toward $1T market cap as price hits new all-time high
Cointelegraph
10. Altcoins breakout to new highs while Bitcoin price retests a key support
Cointelegraph
11. Ethereum hits new all-time high near $2K as analyst says 2021 bull run is different
Cointelegraph
Summary
Crypto Long & Short: What Does Dogecoin Have to Do With Government Bans?
● The combined forces of passionate communities with potent tools, and the deepening involvement of institutions, make successful bans less likely.
● Cryptocurrencies now play a significant role in regulated markets in North America and elsewhere. From listed assets to indices to data businesses, traditional markets and crypto markets are becoming inextricably intertwined. With social tension on a slow boil that sometimes spills over, the retail market’s enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies and what they represent — supported by growing institutional investment and market infrastructure relevance — should be enough to make any government interested in maintaining its influence wary of measures that could ignite a problem that just might be harder to control.
Here’s why altcoins are dropping as Bitcoin price inches closer to $50,000
● There are two main reasons why the altcoin market pulled back despite the strength of the dominant cryptocurrency. First, when the price of Bitcoin rallied to a new record-high, it sucked out most of the volume in the cryptocurrency market. This naturally caused the market to sway towards BTC, contributing to the pullback of altcoins. Second, Ether (ETH), which often leads the momentum of the altcoin market, fell sharply against Bitcoin. The combination of these two factors, combined with the uncertainty around Bitcoin at the $50,000 resistance level, has amplified the selling pressure on the altcoin market.
● For now, Bitcoin is maintaining its bullish market structure, which would relieve some of the selling pressure on the altcoin market in the foreseeable future. If Bitcoin sees another breakout, this time, the altcoin market is likely to rally in tandem with Bitcoin after seeing an initial dip on BTC’s first impulse rally.
Blockchain Bites: Bitcoin Volatility Hasn’t Shaken Out Institutions
● Bitcoin set a new high above $50,000 after erratic trading earlier this week, though options markets are not anticipating a drawdown anytime soon.
● Volatility hasn’t shaken institutional interest in bitcoin. Bitcoin whipsawed early this week, dropping $3,000 in early Monday trading and setting a new high above $50,000 on Tuesday.
● Two of bitcoin’s most prominent backers, NYDIG and MicroStrategy, are doubling down on their crypto plays.
● Ripple is unlikely to settle with the SEC according to the latest filing in the case. Previous settlement discussions that took place under the Trump administration have been disrupted, as the division directors involved have since left the SEC.
Blockchain Bites: Why Buy an NFT
● Investors may be realizing the same deflationary market mechanisms that apply to bitcoin’s scarcity creates similar opportunities in NFTs. The total value of NFT-based crypto art is now above $100 million, according to CryptoArt.io, which tracks the largest platforms dedicated to art sales.
● NFTs add friction to digital worlds. While a .pdf can be copied and pasted endlessly, there really is only one token to go around (even the image or document it represents is fully replicable). It’s this programmatic scarcity that is at least in part driving prices sky-high. Investors may be realizing the same deflationary market mechanisms that apply to bitcoin’s scarcity — there will only be 21 million coins — creates similar opportunities to buy and hold NFTs on a much smaller scale.
Market Wrap: Bitcoin Briefly Above $56K, Ether Follows BTC’s Rally
● Bitcoin broke briefly above a key resistance level at $56,000 on Friday, while ether’s slowly catching up to bitcoin’s gains. Some are attributing the astonishing rise of bitcoin’s price, including a short time above $56,000, to the tremendous demand from buyers looking to hedge against inflation.
● ETH, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, was up Friday, trading around $1,951.37 and climbing 0.63% in 24 hours as of 21:00 UTC (4:00 p.m. ET). With ether’s new all-time high could be seen as a result of bitcoin’s surge, factors such as institutional interest and rapid growth of decentralized finance (DeFi) have also been moving its price higher.
Bitcoin’s Price Surge Accelerates After Passing Milestone of $1T Market Value
● Bitcoin’s recent price surge pushed the largest cryptocurrency past $1 trillion in market capitalization, a threshold that might prove to be a catalyst for higher prices rather than a barrier or peak. “The bulls have taken hold of the markets,” said Denis Vinokourov, head of research at digital assets prime broker Bequant.
● “In many ways, $1 trillion marks an interesting focal point in which bitcoin goes from a magic internet money meme into a Wall Street, institutionally recognized and investable asset,” said Andrew Tu, an executive at quantitative trading firm Efficient Frontier.
MicroStrategy Raises $1.05B in Latest Debt-for-Bitcoin Offering
● MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor said Friday the firm had completed a $1.05 billion debt offering, a raise that will allow the business intelligence company to buy another $1 billion in bitcoin.
● The raise is part of MicroStrategy’s dual business strategy of developing business intelligence software and also literally just buying as much BTC as it possibly can. MicroStrategy already has 71,039 of the coins.
North America’s First Bitcoin ETF Hits $165M Trade Volume in First Day: Report
● The first publicly traded bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in North America came out swinging on Thursday, its first day of trading. About $165 million worth of shares of the newly minted ETF changed investor hands in less than a day, according to a report by Bloomberg.
● The fund, which is managed by Canada-based Purpose Investments, has experienced a flurry of demand where trade volumes hit well above the country’s typical day one ETF threshold, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart.
Bitcoin accelerates toward $1T market cap as price hits new all-time high
● BTC hit yet another all-time high on Feb. 19 as the largest cryptocurrency set its sights on becoming a trillion-dollar asset. In the new world #bitcoin increases in value, because math caps the monetary base at 21M BTC. The new world is eating the old world right now.
● Cryptocurrency investment giant Grayscale has added another $87 million to its Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), data confirms. According to data from on-chain monitoring service Bybt, Feb. 19 saw a 1,672 BTC top-up of Grayscale’s flagship fund, which now contains a total of just over $34 billion.
Altcoins breakout to new highs while Bitcoin price retests a key support
● Ethereum takes aim at $2,000 while Bitcoin price retraces slightly to retest underlying support. Steinglass took the resilience shown by Ether during a turbulent market in altcoins as a “sign that the story behind ETH is more broad and robust than the recent frenzy in altcoins that utilized ETH for staking purposes.”
● Increase in jobless claims puts pressure on traditional markets. Altcoins bounced back from their recent dip to see healthy price gains on Thursday, with Binance Coin (BNB) outperforming the rest of the top ten as it increased more than 20% over the past 24-hours to a new all-time high of $218.94
Ethereum hits new all-time high near $2K as analyst says 2021 bull run is different
● Today’s Ether market is nothing like it was in 2018, says Ki Young Ju, CEO of on-chain analytics service CryptoQuant, as data reveals huge Coinbase outflows taking place last year. Ether hit fresh all-time highs and neared $2,000 for the first time on Feb. 18 as momentum returned to trading.
● As Cointelegraph reported, Ether’s gains have outstripped Bitcoin in 2021, with year-to-date gains of 164% versus around 85% for BTC/USD. Ki Young Ju added in a further tweet on Thursday, “Fewer deposits, more withdrawals across all exchange
