Wednesday Watch: Bitcoin at $34k: New All-Time High
JPMorgan thinks Bitcoin could be worth $146,000 in the future. Plus how to get into Yield Guild Games.
Good morning. Yesterday still rings true today: For those who have witnessed volatility for the first time, welcome to crypto. It’s a part of life here.
Welcome to Wednesday Watch, part of our new series: BitPinas Daily. We will look at the price of Bitcoin, Ethereum and the major cryptocurrencies. Crypto is global, but sometimes news that matters happens while we sleep. So we bring to you what’s happening in our space here and abroad.
Market Price as of January 6, 2021:
| Bitcoin | $34,082 | 8.14% |
| Ethereum | $1,103.36 | 7.58% |
| Tether | $1.00 | 0.0% |
| XRP | $0.22 | -4.55% |
| Litecoin | $159.06 | 4.6% |
| SLP | $0.017 | -2.6% |
Bitcoin closed January 5, 2021, at $34,082 per BTC. We’re up 24% in the last 7 days and 17% since the year began. This is a new all-time high.
Bitcoin’s market capitalization stands today at $635,498,469,312 which is 67.9% of the entire cryptocurrency market.
On the table above, there’s the cryptocurrency SLP. If you wonder what that is, check out this article: Playing Axie Infinity vs Minimum Basic Salary in the Philippines.
Ripple Effect
Grayscale Drops XRP From Large Cap Crypto Fund Following Ripple SEC Suit
Grayscale still operates a standalone XRP Trust but stopped accepting new subscriptions to the fund on Dec. 23. “Existing investors in the Trust will continue to receive annual reports, audited financial statements, and tax information statements,” Salm said. “The Trust will continue its daily 4 PM NAV striking as well as other associated functions pursuant to the Trust’s governing documents.” (Nathan DiCamillo, Coindesk)
XRP sinks below LTC again after new lawsuit from major investor
XRP has once again lost its place as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency, with lawsuits mounting against Ripple after one of its major investors followed the SEC in filing a complaint against the project.
According to a Jan. 6 report from Bloomberg, Tetragon, one of the lead investors in a $200 million Series C funding round for Ripple in 2019, has filed a complaint against the firm in the Delaware Chancery Court. (Turner Wright, Cointelegraph)
Ethereum
$2 Billion Is Now Staked in Ethereum 2.0
The Ethereum 2.0 staking protocol now holds over 2.2 million ETH, data from on-chain analytics site Dune Analytics shows. The amount is worth over $2.3 billion at Ethereum’s current market price of $1,049. However, the asset itself rose over 43% in the past week, meaning the figure may change if prices correct downwards and no new ETH is deposited. (Shaurya Malwa, Decrypt)
Bitcoin
Bitcoin’s price could reach above $146,000 over the long term, say JPMorgan strategists
In a note published Monday, strategists led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote that bitcoin’s competition with gold has already started and that implies a significant upside for bitcoin over the long term. “There is little doubt that this competition with gold as an ‘alternative’ currency will continue over the coming years given that millennials will become over time a more important component of investors’ universe and given their preference for ‘digital gold’ over traditional gold,” the strategists said. (Yogita Khatri, The Block)
DeFi
Ethereum Gas Prices Put a Damper on DeFi Rally
Amidst the current demand, average Ethereum gas fees surged to an all-time high of almost $900 yesterday, according to data from Glassnode. Even simple transactions like sending ETH interpersonally can generate $10 in fees. thereum Layer-2 scaling solutions are aiming to tackle this issue by handling transactions off the main Ethereum chain, but to-date, none have achieved mainstream adoption within the De-Fi community. But for Ethereum’s sake, a proper scaling solution needs to come fast because competitors aren’t waiting. (Dan Kahan, The Defiant)
#CryptoPH
Getting Started With Yield Guild Games
A number of people have asked how to get involved with Yield Guild Games, a new project that aims to onboard millions of players into the “play-to-earn” ecosystem. In a new article, Yield Guild said the best way to get involved is to join the Discord server and be involved in many of the guild activities.
Players can join Axie Infinity Scholarship Programs, be a scholarship manager, or even join the YGG Esports team! Also members can also participate in researching games with NFT assets and play-to-earn components, for the benefit of all guild members. You can check more information here: How To Get Involved With Yield Guild Games.
What else is happening
- SkyBridge Capital sees massive gains for Bitcoin compared to gold. (Vildana, Hajric, Bloomberg)
- Digital Currency Group acquires crypto index startup TradeBlock. (Michael McSweeney, The Block)
- DeFi10 returns 370% thanks to ETH and airdrops. (Camila Russo, The Defiant)
This article is published on BitPinas: Wednesday Watch: Bitcoin at $34k: New All-Time High
