“Untitled” by artist Jean-Michel Basquiat will be the next work to be auctioned by Phillips accepting Bitcoin and Ethereum as payment. This and more news in this handy daily summary so that you are always informed with the most recent events that occur within the crypto world.
Bitcoin and Blockchain Adoption
📍US auction house Phillips will accept Bitcoin and Ethereum for a Basquiat artwork valued at $70 million. “Untitled” by artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, one of the greatest works of art of the modern era, will be auctioned at Phillips during the 18th Century and Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York on May XNUMX. The American auction house announced that it will accept cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin (BTC) y Ethereum (ETH), during the bidding for the work, valued at 70 million dollars.
Scott Nussbaum, a specialist in contemporary and 20th-century art at the auction house, said it was a smart move to accept cryptocurrency payments. Collectors are increasingly “interested in cryptocurrencies as a payment method for traditional artworks,” Nussbaum said. The growing interest in digital assets prompted Phillips to auction off a Banksy artwork, «Laugh Now Panel«, last year accepting cryptocurrencies as a means of payment. Also, last month the American auction house presented the sale of its first NFT.
NFT and DeFi Markets
📍Papa Johns will give away NFT bags to its customers. Pizza chain Pap Johns is taking its first steps into NFTs and the Metaverse. "NFT Hot Bag Giveaway" is Papa Johns’ new initiative to give away NFT delivery bags to its customers and consumers. The pizza chain announced that it will launch a digital collection of NFT bags inspired by three variations, called “Papa 1984,” “Papa Cheese Melt,” and “Papa Tag.”
📍KyberSwap is implemented on the Arbitrum scalability blockchain. The developers of the DEX KyberSwap announced the integration of the decentralized exchange into the Arbitrum layer-2 scalability solution, to facilitate its users with faster transactions and low commission fees. KyberSwap's total liquidity exceeds 66 million currently.
Arbitrum reported that it expects other major DeFi protocols to join its ecosystem soon. So far, SushiSwap, Uniswap, Curve Finance, and Balancer, four of the largest decentralized protocols in the crypto industry, have already been implemented on this scalability solution.
Miners and Validators
📍Hive Blockchain signs agreement with Intel and Compute North LLC to expand its crypto mining operations. Bitcoin mining company, Hive Blockchain, announced a purchase agreement with next-generation chipmaker Intel to acquire new, highly efficient mining equipment in order to expand its crypto mining operations. In addition to this, it reported that it will host 100 megawatts (MW) of power from Compute North LLC at its facilities in Texas (United States). Hive Blockchain signed a letter of intent with the American company focused on crypto mining and energy efficiency.
📍Marathon Digital Holdings mined over 3.000 bitcoins in 2021. Marathon Digital Holdings' 2021 financial results reveal that the American company mined a total of 3.197 BTC from the blockchain network throughout 2021. Currently, the value of these BTC is around $125,7 million, with Bitcoin trading at around $XNUMX million. $39.325 per unit at the time of writing this article.
By the end of February, Marathon Digital Holdings held approximately 8.956 bitcoins. The company is expected to operate 199.000 miners next year, with a hashrate of 23,3 EH/s.
Development and Technology
📍Immutable raises $200 million in Temasek-led round Australian NFT company Immutable has reached a valuation of $2.500 billion following the success of its latest round of capital. Singapore government-owned investment firm Temasek led Immutable's $200 million funding round, according to the company. reported Reuters. The funds raised by the startup will be used to further boost its NFT ecosystem.
Immutable is the developer of the blockchain solution Immutable X, as well as several NFT video games such as «Gods Unchained». Traditional investors and investors from the blockchain industry, such as Mirae Asset, ParaFi Capital, Statement Partners and Tencent Holdings, also participated in the capital round.
Rules and Regulations
📍US Senator Ron Wyden champions Bitcoin innovation and the blockchain industry. During a interview In the Financial Times, Senator Ron Wyden urged his colleagues not to undermine technological development and innovation in the cryptocurrencies, , imposing overly harsh regulatory measures. As he explained, the current crypto and blockchain industry resembles “the Internet in its infancy,” so overly strict regulation could affect its growth.
“There is obviously a debate [about stricter regulation] but I want to be on the side of the innovator”, the senator said, pointing out the potential of cryptocurrencies for sending remittances, making low-cost cross-border payments, among other things.
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