China's Foreign Ministry calls US senators ignorant for calling for banning its athletes from using the digital yuan. OpenSea marketplace is the new crypto “Unicorn” with a valuation of $1.500 billion. 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 price recovers 7% of its value after falling below $30.000 yesterday. Bitcoin (BTC) is close to reaching $32.000 per unit after recovering from yesterday's drop. Despite having recovered 7% of its value at the time of this edition, analysts indicate that the price of the cryptocurrency has not fully recovered, so a new collapse in its price has not been ruled out so far.
Bitcoin and Blockchain Adoption
📍OpenSea, one of the largest P2P marketplaces for NFTs and crypto collectibles, is the new unicorn of the crypto industry. The market NFT has closed a $100 million funding round, becoming the latest company in the crypto industry to surpass a $1.000 billion valuation. The round was led by venture capital manager Andreessen Horowitz, which raised OpenSea’s valuation to $1.500 billion.
In addition to this, OpenSea is also integrating with the Polygon scalability network to offer gas-free transactions to its users and facilitate entry and participation in the NFT market.
📍Crypto derivatives exchange FTX has closed the largest funding round in cryptocurrency history so far. On Twitter, FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried revealed that the exchange had closed a $900 million funding round, led by SoftBank, Coinbase and VanEck. With this round, FTX's valuation rises to $18.000 billion.
📍Most JPMorgan clients view Bitcoin as an investment asset. JP Morgan Asset & Wealth Management's new CEO, Mary Callahan Erdoes, said Bloomberg reported that most of the company’s clients and investors view bitcoin as an asset class, even though the cryptocurrency has not yet established itself as such. Erdoes also said that JPMorgan will continue to develop services and products to meet the needs of its clients and investors.
This week, JPMorgan published several job vacancies technology related blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Specifically, the investment bank and firm is looking for experts in bitcoin, ethereum and more to develop its new business unit called Onyx. This will bring together all blockchain experts and offer a wide range of services related to the cryptocurrency and digital asset industry. JPMorgan analysts believe that the price of bitcoin can also exceed $140.000 per unit.
Rules and Regulations
📍China hits out at US regulators, saying they need to figure out what a digital currency is first. Zhao Lijian, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Indian Lijian said U.S. regulators should “stop stirring up trouble” and respect the spirit of the Olympic Charter without turning sport into a political issue. Lijian’s remarks came after Senator Cynthia Lummis issued a letter to the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee to ban American athletes from using the digital yuan during their participation in the 2022 Beijing Olympics. The letter, also signed by Senators Marsha Blackburn and Roger Wicker, said the digital yuan is a tool of surveillance and control by the Chinese central bank.
Lijian suggested that there was a certain degree of ignorance in the US senators' comments and that they should find out what a digital currency is.
📍France's Financial Markets Authority (AMF) is proposing that the European Union create a single entity to oversee and control cryptocurrencies. On Valid identity document qualified “More European Supervision and Better Regulation are key elements to build a true Capital Markets Union” The Authority proposes that improving existing regulation and exercising greater oversight are key elements to building a true union of financial markets. It also indicated that the supervision of public offerings of cryptocurrencies will help transparency and reliability.
The AMF proposes that the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) be responsible for supervising and monitoring the digital industry. This proposal coincides with the European Commission's approach to tighten regulation on cryptocurrencies in the region.
CBDC and Central Banks
📍The digital yuan reaches the insurance industry in China. China's central bank revealed its next test of the digital yuan in Shenzhen province, led by Pingan Property Insurance, a company that offers property and casualty insurance and policy services. According to the report From the Global Times, the central bank's Shenzhen branch has already launched the first round of insurance policies using digital yuan, the digital currency CBDC from China, which will officially hit the market in February next year.
This is the first time that a central bank digital currency has been used in the insurance industry. China wants to test its digital yuan in as many spaces as possible and ensure its use and adoption in the country. In addition to insurance, the digital yuan has also been implemented in contactless payments, e-payments, subway services, and much more.
Continue reading: The European Commission calls for stricter regulation of cryptocurrencies
