Read in the Digest:
- Bitcoin (BTC) gains $47 billion market cap as it rallies above $22k, dominance drops
- Ethereum (ETH) rallies above $1,700, Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) launches countdown clock ahead of this week’s merge
- Algorand Foundation discloses $35M exposure to crypto lender Hodlnaut
- The White House turns the spotlight on Cardano as the biggest pos project
- South Korean man faces 4-year prison term for sexual abuse in metaverse
Bitcoin (BTC) Gains $47 Billion Market Cap as it Rallies Above $22k, Dominance Drops
Bitcoin (BTC) the world’s biggest cryptocurrency, has been rallying since dropping as low as $18,644 on September 7. BTC has now gained more than 20% since its new 60-day low to spike above $22k.
The 7 days price chart for Bitcoin (BTC). Source: CoinMarketCap
Over the last 24 hours, Bitcoin has now gained 3.35% to reach an inter-day trading high of $22,355. Bitcoin’s recent rally has seen its market cap rise by more than $47 billion since September 7.
The 24 hours price chart for Bitcoin (BTC). Source: CoinMarketCap
The Bitcoin rally, which is the most since July, is fueled by the weakening of the U.S. Dollar. The sudden rise has also seen over 40,000 investors lose $177 million (85 million in the last 24 hours) for betting against BTC’s price rise.
Flipsider:
- Despite Bitcoin’s spike in price, its dominance of the global crypto market cap continues to take a hit as other altcoins rise.
- The price of Bitcoin is also at risk of a fall as the Fed prepares to release its consumer price index (CPI) inflation index.
Ethereum (ETH) Rallies Above $1,700, Google Launches Countdown Clock Ahead of this Week’s Merge
The long-awaited Ethereum merge is now less than three days away. The price of Ethereum (ETH) has now rallied above $1,750 as the network prepares to migrate from proof-of-stake (PoS) into proof-of-stake (PoS).
The 7 days price chart for Ethereum (ETH). Source: CoinMarketCap
Ethereum now trades at its highest point in more than three weeks. Also recognizing the launch of the merge, Google has launched a countdown clock for the merge.
Typing “Ethereum merge” or “the merge” into Google’s search engine brings out the “Google Ethereum Merge countdown clock.” The animation of two pandas running toward each other with outstretched hands gets closer as the merge approaches.
Russian-born Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum made a surprise attendance at the Kyiv Tech Summit over the weekend. Buterin’s attendance was to show support for war-torn Ukraine.
Flipsider:
- As Ethereum prepares for the merge, groups are also preparing to fork its codebase, meaning Ethereum users may come out of the merge with multiple tokens.
Why You Should Care
Ethereum (ETH) is expected to rally even more as the eyes of every person in the crypto industry and beyond are now on the merge event.
Algorand Foundation Discloses $35M Exposure to Crypto Lender Hodlnaut
Algorand Foundation, the nonprofit community organization focused on developing the Algorand ecosystem on September 9, announced a $35 million USDC hole in its balance sheet as a result of exposure to troubled Singapore-based crypto lender Hodlnaut.
According to the announcement made on the Algorand Foundation website, the funds represented less than 3% of its total assets and it doesn’t expect the exposure to cause any operational or liquidity issues.
Algorand said part of its mission is to generate yield for developing the Algorand ecosystem. The foundation said that the investments were short-term locked deposits that became inaccessible from August 8, when Hodlnaut suspended withdrawals.
Flipsider:
- Earlier last week, Algorand (ALGO) upgraded its network, increasing its transaction capacity to 6,000 transactions per second (tps), the upgrade also added State Proofs to the network.
Why You Should Care
The foundation however stated that it is pursuing all legal remedies to maximize asset recovery. Part of those efforts led to the appointment of an Interim Judicial Management to resolve Hodlnaut’s liquidity issues
The White House Turns the Spotlight on Cardano as the Biggest PoS Project
The subject of crypto mining has remained an irascible one, with the energy consumption of Proof-of-Work chains becoming an issue. The United States White House, in its latest report, placed Cardano as the leading Proof-of-Stake blockchain.
The report highlights Bitcoin as the biggest cryptocurrency by market cap. However, Bitcoin’s energy consumption is between 38.2 TWh/y and 179.3 TWh/y. Ethereum, at second, is still referred to as a PoW project, with an energy consumption of 99.3 TWh/y.
Cardano is ranked third but is the biggest PoS chain. the difference between Bitcoin’s (PoW) energy consumption and Cardano’s energy consumption is massive. Cardano’s best energy use is rated at 6.0 E-04 or 0.006 TWh/y.
The White House has now proposed limiting the use of PoW projects as they use a “significant amount” of electricity and contribute to air, water, and noise pollution in some areas.
Flipsider:
- When Ethereum migrates, it would become the biggest PoS crypto project, as it holds more than 12 times Cardano’s market cap.
Why You Should Care
Energy efficiency is one of the several advantages Proof-of-Stake has been shown to have over Proo-of-Work consensus.
South Korean Man Faces 4-Year Prison Term for Sexual Abuse in Metaverse
Korean local media reported on September 11 that a South Korean man in his 30s was recently given a four-year prison term for luring underage children, to share sexual content on the Metaverse, in exchange for gifts.
According to the report, the man whose identity is undisclosed falsified his age with an avatar on the metaverse and induced minor victims to record and share nude images and videos of their bodies between December 2021 and March 2022.
In addition to serving time in prison, the offender is obligated to attend 80 hours of treatment programs for sex criminals. He has also got a seven years ban from working in any organization that supports children or the disabled.
The defendant is sentenced for targeting defenceless children, although the exploitative material was not distributed, and neither was it used for profit making.
Flipsider:
- Regardless of some illicit use cases, the metaverse is growing at a blisteringly fast pace, with projects receiving $748 million worth of investments in August.
Why You Should Care
The move re-echos the August announcement of South Korea’s science ministry of the new ethical principles for the metaverse for protecting minors.