Crypto Flipsider News – ETH Gains 530%, Grayscale Launches SOL, MicroStrategy Has Bought 28% of all BTC, Expect a U.S. CBDC Report, Director to Make NFT-Funded Movie, NFT Sales Will Double

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• ETH gains 530% in 2021, Grayscale launches Solana Trust, XRP nodes fall out of sync.
• MicroStrategy has bought 28% of all Bitcoin since its first purchase.
• Expect a CBDC report doon – Powell, Yellen believe Stablecoins need more regulation.
• Thai crypto exchange hopes to become “Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) of Southeast Asia.”
• Movie director to make NFT-funded movie, sport-related NFT sales will double in 2022.

ETH Gains 530% in 2021, Grayscale Launches Solana Trust, XRP Nodes Fall Out of Sync

While Bitcoin struggles to make gains, Ethereum has led the market’s recovery, gaining more than 7% over the last 24 hours. The soaring prices of ETH have seen it rise above $4,700, bringing it within inches of the all-time high of $4,850, set on November 10th.

The 24 hours price chart for Ethereum (ETH). Source: Tradingview

While Ethereum’s recent performance is laudable, it pales in comparison to its year-date gains. Since the start of 2021, when ETH was trading at $736, Ethereum has gained by more than 530%, outperforming the world’s largest crypto, Bitcoin.

The year-to-date price chart for Ethereum (ETH). Source: Tradingview

Amidst Solana’s (SOL) surge, the largest cryptocurrency fund in the world, Grayscale, has announced the launch of Solana Trust. For investors to access Solana Trust, they will need a $25,000 minimum investment, with Grayscale’s standard 2.5% management fee.

According to Grayscale, the trust will give investors access to SOL in the form of security, while avoiding the challenges of buying, storing, and safekeeping SOL directly.

Flipsider:

• Ripple experienced a network disruption on November 30th when Public XRP ledger nodes “s1” and “s2” fell out of sync with the XRP ledger for over 5 hours.

MicroStrategy Has Bought 28% of All Bitcoin Since its First Purchase

Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy has become popular for being the biggest buyer of Bitcoin. MicroStrategy recently announced that between November 1st and November 29th, MicroStrategy acquired a total of 7,002 BTCs at a total price of $414.4 million.

While the analytics firm holds the top spot for a publicly-traded firm owning the most bitcoin, what is most interesting is that it has purchased 28% of all Bitcoin since its first buy.

The company’s first bitcoin purchase was announced on August 11th, 2020, during which MicroStrategy bought 21,454 bitcoins with an overall price tag of $250 million, including fees and expenses

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MicroStrategy now holds 121,044 bitcoins, worth approximately $7 billion. Interestingly, even with Bitcoin trading above $56k, Microstrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) has spent roughly $3.6 billion to acquire their entire bitcoin holdings (at an average purchase price of approximately $29,534 per BTC).

Flipsider:

• Some investors believe that if BTC’s value takes a severe plunge, then MicroStrategy could struggle to pay off its over $2 billion debt which it has accumulated in purchasing its Bitcoins.

Why You Should Care

Institutional investors placing big bets on Bitcoin affirms their belief in Bitcoin’s continual existence and future performance.

Expect a CBDC Report Soon – Powell, Yellen Believes Stablecoins Need More Regulation

Jerome Powell, who was selected by President Biden to serve another four-year term as the chair of the Federal Reserve System, has announced that we should expect a central bank digital currency (CBDC) report in the coming weeks.

The United States has long been connected with CBDCs, but there has been no official push to develop one up to now. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York recently launched an innovation center to test CBDCs and stablecoins. However, Powell did not elaborate as to whether the report would come from this commission.

Continuing the trend for pushing greater regulations, Janet Yellen, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, has called for the proper regulation of stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC).

When asked about bank oversight on stablecoins, Secretary Yellen has this to say:

"Legislation should require stablecoin issuers to be insured depository institutions, which are subject to appropriate supervision and regulation, at the depository institution and the holding company level."

Flipsider:

• The mayors of New York City, Miami, and Texas have taken a Crypto-friendly approach.

Why You Should Care

A great deal of emphasis has been placed on the regulation of cryptocurrency, as it could dictate the future of the industry – an example of which has already been portrayed in China.

Thai Crypto Exchange Hopes to Become “Coinbase of Southeast Asia”

Bangkok-based crypto exchange Bitkub Online Co. plans to offer a new range of digital currencies and services in more countries. According to the CEO, Bitkub, which has gathered a valuation of more than $1 billion in just four years, plans “to become the Coinbase of Southeast Asia.”

The exchange is planning to set up its own units, or partner with existing players in countries such as Malaysia, the Philippines, and Laos in 2022. However, a Bitkub exec noted that the available technology and products will likely remain the same as those offered in Thailand.

At the end of November, Bitkub ranked as the 10th largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading value on Coingecko.com.

There are over 3 million users currently active on the exchange platform. Bitkub has entered into partnerships with SCBx Group, The Mall Group, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Flipsider:

• Bitkub may face regulatory hurdles in setting up units in the Philippines.

Why You Should Care

Bitkub is looking to make Crypto services more accessible to residents in Southeast Asians.

Movie Director to Make NFT-Funded Movie, Sport-Related NFT Sales Will Double in 2022

The use cases for Non-fungible tokens (NFT) have been growing steadily. Hollywood director and executive producer Niels Juul, who is behind Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” has outlined plans to produce Hollywood’s first feature film – funded entirely by NFTs.

Juul has promised that investors would be incentivized from the profits and get to meet the production stars. He plans to sell 10,000 NFTs to raise between $8 and $10 million to fund his “NFT Studios” to create a series of films.

NFTs, which were once referred to as a bubble, have grown at a tremendous rate, with over $10.7 billion generated in transactions so far in 2021. Sports-related NFT sales have been a major contributor and, according to predictions released by Deloitte on Wednesday 1st, 2022 will be even bigger.

So far, in 2021, sports-related NFT sales have topped $1 billion. Deloitte experts have predicted that sports-related NFTs will account for more than $2 billion in transactions in 2022.

Flipsider:

• Despite being the Collins Dictionary word of 2021, investors still believe collectibles are overhyped and overpriced.

Why You Should Care

With the growth of the NFT sector, it must only only be a matter of time before mainstream adoption occurs at large.

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