Bitcoin Daily: Brazilians Have Bought Over $4B in Cryptos This Year; Bitcoin ETF From ProShares Begins Trading; Coinbase to Be Official NBA Crypto Platform

Brazilian residents are buying a lot of cryptocurrencies, even though the country plans to roll out new regulations, Finbold reported.

Data from the Central Bank of Brazil showed residents have bought $4.27 billion in cryptos in 2021, with the highest amount, $756 million, being purchased in May, according to the report.

In January, there was $419 million in cryptos bought, and in August there was $496 million, the report stated.

The value of purchased cryptos shows how important it is to Brazil’s economy, particularly considering the way in which the pandemic has upended the economy and devalued most national currencies. Brazil, like many of its neighboring countries, has seen its economy roiled by inflation, hyperinflation cycles and deflation. Crypto has been a hedge in that fight, according to the report.

In other news, the first bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF) started trading Tuesday (Oct. 19), CNBC reported. This follows months of applications from various ETF providers in which ProShares won out.

An announcement last week from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it would allow a futures ETF for bitcoin saw the coin’s price surge beyond $62,000.

However, critics are still skeptical of the idea, with some saying buying a futures ETF in which the average retail investor doesn’t understand ETFs or futures due to complexity isn’t the best idea, according to the report.

Meanwhile, Coinbase has revealed that it’s now the official crypto platform for the National Basketball Association (NBA), CryptoGlobe reported.

The sponsorship will see Coinbase leveraging “just about all the NBA’s platforms, including the WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League and USA Basketball,” according to the report.

Coinbase said it wants to increase awareness about blockchain tech, which could have positive effects on the crypto economy, the report stated. It said the NBA would give the company more exposure.

The deal comes as NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said that the league is likely to see $10 billion in revenue for the 2021-22 season, according to the report.