Bitcoin progress is unstoppable. More investment pouring into it and now it’s of the world’s biggest currency. Check it out more in the article.
::Blockchain::
Thai tax collectors to streamline revenues with blockchain tech in 2021. Blockchain will reportedly make tax evasion more difficult in Thailand.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has announced a new project called Efforce, a blockchain-based marketplace to exchange tokenized energy. After Apple, this is the second company that Wozniak has co-founded after a gap of 45 years.
::Bitcoin::
Israel-Based Shirbit, one of the largest insurance companies in Israel has been hit by a ransomware attack, and the threat actors started to release sensitive data, as the firm doesn’t pay the requested ransom in bitcoin.
Hackers want $4 Million Bitcoin ransom from an insurance firm. An Israeli company got a taste of the cyberpunk dystopia after hackers held it to ransom for over 400 Bitcoin.
Microstrategy buys more Bitcoin, now holding BTC worth over $780 Million in treasury.
Billions of Gold are moving to Bitcoin. Tons of gold have been taken off ETFs while bitcoin was rising in price, showing a striking correlation between the two.
Bitcoin is now the 7th largest currency in the world and the asset with the highest ROI when stacked against gold, US real Estate, US stocks, emerging currencies, and oil.
CZ lands on Bloomberg 50, next to Fauci and Kaepernick. Bloomberg Businessweek named Binance CEO “CZ” Zhao to its Bloomberg 50, its annual list of important people.
Real Vision invested 10% of its cash holdings in Bitcoin. Real Vision CEO Raoul Pal explains why his company invested in Bitcoin and argues that it’s heading to $1 million.
Swiss Valour has launched the world’s first fee-free Bitcoin ETP. The product will provide institutional investors exposure to Bitcoin without having to worry about management fees.
Bitmain reportedly cuts off funding to Bitcoin Core developers. Bitcoin Core touts itself as a direct descendant of Satoshi Nakamoto’s original Bitcoin software client.
The 34th Richest Bitcoin Whale just gutted crypto wallet, moving $415 Million in BTC. One wallet received 100 BTC. BitInfoCharts reveals that the wallet is owned by BetVIP.
CEO of $7 Trillion Fund BlackRock sees Bitcoin as ‘Global Market’ Asset. The fund manager said that while Bitcoin is currently a small market, there’s potential for massive upside.
CEO of Germany’s Second-Largest Exchange will soon run BitMEX. The appointment comes as BitMEX’s founders face charges in US courts.
:: Central Bank Digital Currency::
Chinese Online Retailer JD to enable purchases with the digital yuan. The development of the Chinese CBDC continues as the second-largest online retailer in the country has agreed to be the first virtual mall to use it.
Libra rebrands to Diem ahead of the January launch. The Facebook-backed project makes an attempt to distance itself from the old vision.
DeFi lending continues to grow. Year-to-date, dYdX, Compound, and Aave have originated loans worth almost $30 billion. Outstanding loans of dYdX, Compound, and Aave reached a new all-time high of about $2.1 billion on November 25.
Crypto
Ukraine approves a draft bill on the cryptocurrency regulation, paving the way for a new legal structure for Ukraine’s crypto industry.
German private bank Hauck & Aufhäuser announced its first crypto fund. The initiative, a collaboration with Berlin fintech Kapilendo, will target institutional and semi-institutional investors who want to invest in a portfolio of crypto assets.
Okex finally enabled digital currency withdrawals last Wednesday. Since then, the exchange seems to be experiencing an exodus of funds leaving.
Poloniex experienced an outage earlier today, and the exchange noted that their services were unavailable due to an unexpected issue.
S&P Dow Jones Indices to launch customizable crypto index in 2021. The data provider has partnered with crypto exchange Lukka for sourcing crypto market data.
Coinbase to join Crypto Open Patent Alliance, a consortium developed by Square to increase access to crypto technology through the creation of a collaborative patent library.
BitFlyer trading volume broke records during the Bitcoin rally. Crypto exchange BitFlyer has also seen a threefold increase in the number of new registrations.
South Korea will delay 20% Crypto Trading Tax to 2022. South Korean lawmakers officially approved the postponement of the new income tax on cryptocurrency trading until January 2022.
Leading Russian lender Sberbank has hinted that it is on the verge of issuing its own cryptoasset and will seek to launch a blockchain-based platform that will enable its customers to buy digital financial assets.
:: Ethereum::
DeFi hits 1 million users, Ethereum usage surging. Dune Analytics analyzed the usage of Ethereum-based DeFi protocols such as Uniswap, Compound, Aave, and MakerDao.
Ethereum-based scaling platform OMG Network has been acquired by the venture subsidiary of Hong Kong-headquartered OTC trading firm, Genesis Block.
Coinbase has announced a new reward program for market makers. It will incentivize those who would improve the exchange’s liquidity for less-liquid trading pairs.
::Others::
NFT-artwork titled “NYC Skyline” was sold for over $21,350 on Gemini-owned platform Nifty Gateway. Its author is an aspiring 17-year-old artist from Las Vegas.
Coinbase plans to support the upcoming Spark airdrop that has been seen as a factor in boosting XRP’s price in recent weeks.
Venezuelan army begins block reward mining to secure funds amid economic collapse. Venezuelan government looks for alternatives amid rising inflation.
Visa enters into a partnership with Circle to integrate its USDC stablecoin within its network of merchants.
SushiSwap surges 35% amid Yearn finance “Merger”.