Bitcoin (BTC) Dynamics
Bitcoin has been showing sideways movement all week until Friday. During the weekend and on Monday, the first cryptocurrency was trading above $43.000. From Tuesday, the price began to decline, falling below $42.000. On Friday morning, January 21, Bitcoin briefly rose to $43.000 and then dropped to $4.000 and is trading below $39.000. All cryptocurrencies from the top 10 are in the red zone.
Earlier this week, Arcane Research analysts reported that the correlation between Bitcoin and the S&P 500 Index was at its highest since October 2020. So cryptocurrency’s price is following a trend that has affected the US stock market. The latter has plunged for the third trading session in a row.
Some Interesting Predictions for BTC
Long-term predictions seem mostly optimistic:
- According to Mike McGlone, senior commodity strategist at Bloomberg, Bitcoin is completing its transition from a risk-on to a risk-off asset. This trend will drive its quotes up to $100.000 in 2022. The expert said in an interview with Cointelegraph that the only obstacle could be a tightening of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.
- MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor has no plans to sell Bitcoin, even though its price is down more than 40% from its all-time high. He shared this in an interview with Bloomberg. The businessman said he feels “great comfort,” considering rising inflation, and is not worried about the massive drop in the first cryptocurrency’s exchange rate.
- Fidelity Digital Assets wrote in a new report that 2022 might be the era of adoption of Bitcoin by states. Countries disputing the leading cryptocurrency’s value today will eventually be forced to consider buying it as a form of insurance.
Binance and Cybercriminals
Binance has officially joined the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA), becoming the first crypto industry representative to formally join the alliance. NCFTA’s stated primary goal is to counter cybercrime in all its manifestations. Earlier this week, cybersecurity experts from PeckShield analyzed tokens on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) platform and identified more than 50 fraudulent projects.
The NFT Market News
Non-fungible tokens saw a lot of news this week. Some of the hot ones include:
- NFT marketplace OpenSea confirmed the purchase of Dharma Labs, developer of an Ethereum wallet with the ability to buy tokens for fiat on Uniswap. The deal will integrate the project’s components to simplify the purchase, sale and issuance of non-fungible tokens.
- OpenSea’s monthly trading volume exceeded $3.5 billion, notching a new record, according to data by Dune Analytics. Chainalysis estimates that the NFT market has already exceeded $44 billion. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) expressed interest in the industry’s success. As Bloomberg reports, the agency’s employees will find tax evaders among NFT investors.
- Ethereum has fallen from 95% to 80% since the beginning of 2021, JPMorgan reported. Experts named high commissions of the network as the main reason, and Solana is called the key competitor of Ethereum concerning NFTs.
- Meta, a corporation that already works on integrating non-fungible tokens into Facebook and Instagram, plans to enter the NFT market, as reported by the Financial Times. Moreover, Meta is developing a prototype platform for issuing NFTs.
Opera Introduced Browser for Web 3.0
Opera has launched the beta version of its browser that provides access to Web 3.0 services for Windows, Mac and Android users. It will be possible to use NFTs and dApps, including decentralized exchanges, blockchain games, DeFi services, etc.
The browser has a built-in cryptocurrency wallet. The wallet will support the Ethereum blockchain in the beta version, but later it will work with all the major platforms. Opera users will buy cryptocurrencies and exchange them for fiat directly in the browser.
Of course, this is not all the crypto news over the past week. More updates can be found on our website and social networks daily!
