10/15 FAL Weekly Digest
Welcome to the FAL weekly digest, a source for this week’s biggest news articles and crypto market updates.
Here is what you need to know:
Bitcoin mining facilities similar to the one shown above have relocated across the globe following the ban on cryptocurrency mining in China.
U.S. Leads Global Bitcoin Mining After China Ban
The United States has become the leading nation in Bitcoin mining in terms of hash rate following the Chinese cryptocurrency mining ban in May. According to newly released analytics from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI), the U.S. accounts for 35.4% of the total global BTC mining hash rate distribution. Kazakhstan and Russia have also become major mining centers following the China ban, accounting for 18% and 11% of the global hash rate respectively. The data confirms the circulated theory in May that the Chinese mining ban wouldn’t kill crypto, but would further decentralize the network and spread the mining hash rate across the globe. For more information on Bitcoin mining and it’s expansion in the U.S., see our full article here.
Coinbase Rattles Up Crypto Space
The reputable cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has announced its expansion into the NFT space with a nonfungible marketplace launch later this year. Sanchan Saxena, Vice President of Product and Ecosystem, said that the NFT marketplace would allow users to browse, purchase, mint, and display Ethereum-based tokens. Saxena stated that the release will “allow creators to maintain control of their artwork through decentralized contracts and metadata transparency.”
While the new platform will only support Ethereum based NFTs following ERC-721 and ERC-1155 standards at launch, the company has plans for multi-chain support by the beginning of 2022. A waitlist was released on Tuesday, which saw well over 1 million individual users sign up to participate in the new platform. For more information on the new NFT marketplace, see our article found here.
Following the news of the NFT marketplace, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong called for a new approach to crypto regulation in the U.S. on Thursday. The exchange has published its “Digital Asset Policy Proposal: Safeguarding America’s Financial Leadership” in an effort to guide U.S. regulators on how to best oversee the blossoming industry. Armstrong warned that heavy handed and inconsistent regulation will pose significant risks to the many entrepreneurs and businesses in the field.
The outspoken CEO vocalized the need for the designation of one single regulatory body to oversee digital asset markets. Currently the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) all have conflicting rulings and viewpoints regarding the cryptocurrency space and digital assets. For more information on the proposed policies, see our full article found here.
Market Analysis- Bitcoin
Bitcoin has reclaimed the $60,000 position, reaching price levels not seen since April. Investors are heavily anticipating the approval of a Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) which has been hinted at by the SEC and other figures. Shares of Valkyrie’s Bitcoin ETF have been certified for listing on the Nasdaq exchange, further suggesting that Bitcoin ETF products could begin trading as early next week.
The image above shows the daily (D) BTC/USD chart on Coinbase, highlighting the 14.41% increase that Bitcoin saw over the past week. Bitcoin is currently valued at $61,351 USD at the time of publication. Price action has been trending up overall following a string of positive news from U.S. government officials and further institutional adoption. For a more in-depth analysis, please see our post found here.
Axie Infinity Becomes Most Traded NFT Collection in Q3
The prominent monster-battling NFT game “Axie Infinity” has taken the lead in terms of trading volume in the NFT space in Q3 2021, surpassing well known collections such as NBA TopShot and Crypto Punks. Analytics show that the game saw a trading volume of about $2.08 billion during Q3, and has generated over $800 million in revenue in the same time period.
Axie had had an eventful third quarter, with the game launching a staking service for holders of its $AXS governance token and airdropping $60 million worth of AXS tokens to early players of the game. The token has also seen dramatic price increases over the past 3 months, valuated at about $20 per token in late July to a high of $155 in early October. While the numbers are looking great, co-founder Aleksander Leonard Larsen admitted that “it’s really hard to begin playing Axie right now.” For more information, please see our in-depth analysis found here.
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