7 days from the World of Blockchain
The news of the week, if you will, is that we had the eighth week in the red, an absolute record in the history of BTC. What does it mean? This means that according to Copinmarketrate.com , for eight weeks in a row, the price of BTC has been closing lower than the previous week.
On the other hand, we have Ethereum, obviously connected with Bitcoin, especially in times like now, which may be on the way to changes that have been talked about for a long time, and which analysts are already arguing about (with clearly contradictory results). And all this despite the fact that the world of altcoins, with a few very rare exceptions, continues a kind of free fall.
A sign of a deep crisis will be seen by those who know how to associate with a rather alarming situation in international financial markets, and Bitcoin behaves no worse than rising stocks and risky markets in general. Meanwhile, however, there is a lot of movement on the decision-making side, which is a sign that with the sluggish state of the markets, there is still time to build. With rare insight, as the most important representatives of the fiat world also said this week that they are extremely concerned about the growth of BTC or are not interested in investing in it. Which rather indicates the fear of the “old establishment” to lose control.
And so, the results of the week:
- Bill Gates
Even Bill Gates is against Bitcoin, or rather, he does not invest in Bitcoin. And he doesn’t do it because, in his opinion, it won’t add anything to society. Again, it is necessary to understand what Bill Gates means by society, since with his fund he must be well acquainted with the problems of non-bank clients, since he works in the poorest countries of the world. There is also a feeling that, on the one hand, one should render a public service to his friend Warren Buffett, one of the most venomous opponents of Bitcoin, another of those who even without questions makes it clear how useless he considers BTC.
- Ethereum: Everyone is thinking about “Merging”
As for Ethereum, which almost always takes a back seat when we face such difficult situations in the market, this week has become a merger week for it. Or rather, about those announcements that helped shed light on how the protocol should move in this direction.
Firstly, a merger on the main test will take place soon – a step of great importance, which should lead, at least according to what was distributed at the end of the week, to a merger in the main network already in August.
It is not yet clear whether this schedule will be followed or, as has happened in the past, further delays are possible, given the complexity of the operation. However, this will remain a topic that almost all market participants will continue to discuss.
But, the incentives to stay in staking will remain. After the merger, the transition of Ethereum to PoS actually becomes mainstream, which means that there will be significant incentives for mining. This will encourage all those who have already placed bets to continue making them. As things stand, it would seem strange to observe a huge outflow of capital from Ethereum.
- Altcoins: will there be a fight like in 2018?
Those who are already working in the cryptocurrency sector in 2018 will experience this stage much more calmly, having become accustomed to market fluctuations of a much larger scale. However, the altcoin sector, in our opinion, has already given a lot, and there is a completely similar dynamic in it.
Some flagship projects will disappear or otherwise give way to new ones, and events such as adjustments of this scale will only accelerate this process. Looking back, we can say that it will be a very interesting time to make purchases and enter the market of developing coins and tokens.
With the caveat that with any turbulence of the market, the altcoin sector, as a rule, carries much greater risks than Bitcoin, and even Ethereum. Therefore, those who turn to this world in these particular market phases, it is better to exercise extreme caution.
- The collapse of the Terra Luna ecosystem and its consequences
The collapse of the largest algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) put an end to dreams of an unsecured dollar token.
Stable coins play an important role in the crypto ecosystem and make a significant contribution to blockchain-based financial innovation due to their characteristics. The collapse of the Terra stablecoin universe also called regulators to action. In the UK, which intends to become the center of stable coins, the Treasury of the United Kingdom spoke. The priority direction of regulation of stable coins is the use of centrally secured stable coins, while algorithmic variants are excluded from the legislative framework due to their questionable stability.
And as a result, the United Kingdom is in favor of regulating fiat-backed stable coins and wants them to be regulated by the FCA.
- The US government has approved a comprehensive regulation of cryptocurrencies
Regulatory uncertainty limits the adoption of cryptocurrencies in the United States. The new rules may put an end to this.
The integration of digital assets into the service offerings of traditional financial institutions is progressing worldwide. Last year, major US banks, in particular, noticeably positioned themselves in this area. In addition, the first pioneers from the banking world can be observed in Europe, who take into account a new asset class in their strategy. Even for one of the largest European asset managers, digital assets have become an integral part of strategic planning.
And President Biden’s recent executive order marks a turning point in crypto regulation. Through interagency processes, the United States is moving towards the creation of a comprehensive cryptocurrency regulatory framework and the formation of a legal framework that will ensure the continuous development of the crypto industry.
- BaFin and G7 Promote European Regulation of Cryptocurrencies
Moreover, there is also a trend in Europe towards allowing digital innovations rather than over-regulating them. At least this week, the German Federal Financial Supervision Authority (BaFin) has spoken out on this topic. The statements of the members of the “Big Seven” indicate the priority of regulating the space of decentralized financial applications (DeFi) and stablecoins.
- The US bill will allow retirement in Bitcoin
In an increasing number of places, cryptocurrency is becoming a legal asset class, despite the fact that even now the government looks at it with suspicion. According to many residents of the United States, their government is too slow to implement proper regulation. With the new pension plan, this will also be revised.
A bill has been submitted to the House of Representatives of the US Congress that will allow US residents to invest BTC and other cryptocurrencies in their retirement plans. Unlike a typical European pension fund, Americans can decide for themselves what they want to invest in their retirement plan. Cryptocurrency has not been possible yet, but if this bill is implemented, it will become so.
The proposal was introduced by voter Byron Donalds, who represents the state of Florida. This southern state is very progressive when it comes to crypto regulation. The mayor receives a salary in Bitcoin, and a huge statue inspired by the military-technical cooperation was recently installed in Miami.
However, other states and the country as a whole are now also in favor of effective regulation. This means that there is a high probability that soon in the US you will be able to put Bitcoin in your retirement bank.
It seems that the government is now taking cryptocurrencies very seriously. In March, Finance Minister Janet Yellen even expressed a neutral position on cryptocurrencies. Prior to that, she was quite negative and believed that the market could pose a threat to financial stability.