Bitcoin mimics the stock rally, Morgan Stanley says bitcoin correction is nothing new and does crypto make you more attractive? These stories and more this week in crypto.
Bitcoin returned to $40,000 for the first time in weeks as Wall Street also experienced a major upturn. Over the past month, the crypto market has been tightly correlated to global equities. The strong, sudden upturn of bitcoin came at a cost to short-sellers, with over $50 million in short positions being liquidated in a four-hour period.
Investment bank Morgan Stanley has reported that Bitcoin’s 50% drop from November’s record high is nothing new and the correction is within historical norms. The research article, entitled “State of the Bear Market” noted that Bitcoin has witnessed 15 bear markets since 2009 and the correction seen in recent months is within the range of what has happened before.
According to MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor, tighter government crypto regulations would be positive for Bitcoin’s price by accelerating institutional adoption. Saylor is especially looking for clear definitions and operating rules. Saylor added that widespread adoption of bitcoin will help stabilize the market and reduce price volatility. Meanwhile, Microstrategy announced the purchase of another 660 Bitcoins this week.
FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange owned by billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, is buying Japanese rival Liquid along with all of its operating subsidiaries for an undisclosed sum. FTX earlier this week announced it had raised $400 million in a funding round that boosted FTX to a $32 billion valuation. FTX is expanding aggressively in the Asian crypto market at a time when competition in the space is heating up.
Philadelphia is preparing to follow Miami, Austin and New York by partnering with CityCoins to develop a cryptocurrency for its citizens. Philadelphia Mayor, Jim Kenney, has endorsed the concept and said he is enthusiastic about the potential of the CityCoins program that allows users to contribute crypto funds to their home city in exchange for crypto rewards.
Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin is getting back $100 Million worth of Shiba Inu coins that he had donated to Indian COVID-19 relief fund CryptoRelief in 2021. Buterin said that he plans to personally deploy these funds in some higher-risk, higher-reward COVID science and relief projects worldwide.
The NFL and Ticketmaster have teamed up to give this year’s Super Bowl attendees commemorative NFTs of their tickets. The NFL described the NFT ticket as a digital keepsake from their Super Bowl experience and said it would enable the organization to further evaluate the NFT space for future ticketing and event engagement opportunities.
A study has found that 33% of Americans would be more likely to go on a date with someone who mentions cryptocurrency in their online dating profile. Furthermore, nearly three out of four singles would be more interested in a second date with a person who paid the restaurant bill with Bitcoin according to the survey performed by eToro.
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That’s what’s happened this week in crypto, see you next week.
