Bitcoin, the queen of cryptocurrencies, has reached a new all-time high, with a value of over $52.000, while Ethereum is getting closer to the $2.000 level. These and more news in this practical daily summary so that you are always informed with the most recent events that occur within the crypto world.
Cryptocurrencies and altcoins
📍Bitcoin (BTC) breaks the 51K and 52K barriers on February 17 to mark a new all-time high in the $52.547 USDThe cryptocurrency surprised everyone with a growth of more than $3.200 USD per unit; a 7% return in its value in the last few hours.
Analysts consider the $48.000 level to be crucial for the cryptocurrency to maintain an upward trend in the coming days, and even predict it to reach $63.000 in the coming days. Bitcoin’s new bullish rally is causing frenzy among cryptocurrency investors.
📍On the other hand, Ethereum (ETH), the second largest cryptocurrency on the market, marked a new high above $1.900 USD early this February 18th. Likewise, the tokens of the main protocols of the ecosystems DeFi are on a roll. Aave (AAVE) is up 16% in the past few hours, while Binance Coin (BNB) is on the verge of touching its all-time high, worth XNUMX billion. $168 USD and a growth of 28% in the last few hours.
Bitcoin and Blockchain Adoption
📍MicroStrategy will increase its $690 million private debt offering, which it proposed on February 16, to almost $900 million, which will be invested in Bitcoin to increase the company's holdings in this cryptocurrency.
The business intelligence firm rose to prominence within the crypto community as the largest institutional Bitcoin investor in 2020, acquiring over 70.780 BTC worth $1.200 billion at the time. However, as of today, with the BTC price surpassing $52K, MicroStrategy’s holdings are valued at over $3.680 billion. The company’s CEO, Michael Saylor, is known as the new Bitcoin evangelist, who is bringing the cryptocurrency’s potential to hundreds of businesses and corporations.
📍The CIO (Chief Information Officer) of BlackRock, Rick Rieder, confirms that the American investment management company is venturing into cryptocurrencies. During a interview Speaking to CNBC’s Squawk Box, Rieder noted that the company has begun to delve into Bitcoin, and said that having a portion of cash invested in BTC makes sense.
Miners
📍Ebang, a publicly traded China-based Bitcoin mining equipment manufacturer, announced which will create a mining pool with its own mining equipment, equipment from other manufacturers and hash rate rented to mine bitcoins. The company's board of directors approved the new mining business, although they did not report the date on which it will begin operations.
In addition, the company is preparing to build data centers to support Bitcoin mining activities and to lanzar a cryptocurrency exchange this year.
NFT and DeFi Markets
📍The DJ and producer Justin David Blau, known for being a staunch supporter and influencer of cryptocurrencies and digital assets, is releasing the first full album tokenized on the Ethereum blockchain via NFT. Justin, known by his stage name 3LAU, will launch an exclusive auction to present his Ultraviolet vinyl collection, composed of 33 pieces in NFT tokens.
La auction NFT trading will take place on the Origin Protocol marketplace, which is scheduled to launch on February 26.
CBDC
📍The Central Bank of the Bahamas, the first entity to launch a digital currency CBDC, signed a agreement with Mastercard to incorporate its digital currency, known as the Sand Dollar, into a prepaid Mastercard. In this way, Sand Dollar users will be able to pay for products, goods and services with their digital currencies at any merchant that accepts Mastercard payments.
The payment services platform is also involved in the agreement Island Pay, providing greater flexibility to Bahamians in the way they purchase and pay for their products, using the country’s CBDC digital currency.
Cryptosecurity
📍The United States government and the Department of Justice (DOJ) They are accusing three North Korean citizens of being part of the cybercriminal group Lazarus Group, and being the authors of the WannaCry ransomware.
The government entity published a release The DOJ said the indictments follow a two-year investigation into the defendants’ illicit activities that directly link them to the cybercriminal group. The DOJ said the defendants used computers, rather than guns, to steal cryptocurrency and other assets and fund various criminal acts, including the hack-and-dump attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment, the $2 million theft from the Bangladesh Bank in 81, and multiple attacks executed through WannaCry.
Regulations
📍The State Duma of Russia approved, in its first reading, the government's bill to establish taxes on cryptocurrencies in the country. Thus, on the morning of Wednesday, February 17, the lower house of parliament voted in favor of approving the proposed tax legislation applicable to the cryptocurrency industry, considered a priority in the country.
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