by Alex Clark
Ethereum 2.0, the network upgrade of ETH, crossed 6 million staked coins under its deposit contract on Thursday, which is its highest level on record. Given ETH’s current price at $2,035, this amounts to $12.21 billion.
The launch of the energy efficient Ethereum 2.0 network has put the digital asset in the spotlight, with two JP Morgan analysts saying that proof-of-stake coin yields are attractive investments in this zero-rate environment. Not only does staking lower the opportunity cost of holding cryptocurrencies versus other asset classes but, in many cases, cryptocurrencies pay a significant nominal and real yield.
Elon has lost his edge after his tweet yesterday failed to move the price of Dogecoin. Musk took a break from tweeting about Doge at the end of May but made a return yesterday publishing a tweet saying, ‘Release the Doge!’ It seems that investors are no longer listening and are finally realizing that the tweets of one man should not be the deciding factor for whether they buy or sell their assets.
But, given that Dogecoin accounted for 34% of Robinhood’s crypto transaction-based revenue in Q1, any slowdown in demand for Doge could be bad news for the platform.
650 U.S. banks will soon be able to offer bitcoin purchases to an estimated 24 million customers as part of a deal between enterprise payments giant NCR and digital-asset management firm NYDIG. Banks and credit unions have grown tired of seeing crypto purchases made from their accounts to outside exchanges but by providing these clients with a way to buy bitcoin—and eventually spend it—within their existing accounts, the need for cryptocurrency exchanges could disappear.
We could witness a significant flow of investment into bitcoin following the approval of a new law in Germany that permits special funds, to invest as much as 20% of their portfolios in crypto. Should every ‘Spezialfond’ choose to allocate the full 20% in crypto, that would equate to $415 billion, based on the total assets under management of such funds in Germany.
A recent survey of financial advisors and their investing strategies shows “a significant shift to embracing cryptocurrencies.” More than 26% indicated that they plan to increase their recommendation of cryptocurrencies over the next 12 months. Furthermore, 49% of advisers said that clients have asked them about investing in cryptocurrencies in the last six months.
The Bitcoin Mining Council, an organization created to promote the use of renewable energy in the Bitcoin mining industry, has revealed that sustainable energy use increased 52.2% between Q1 and Q2 of 2021. The report also explains that 67.6% of the total energy used to mine Bitcoin comes from sustainable sources. It is hard to know what the energy mix will look like until the hashrate from China has relocated, but its only likely to improve given that 65% of bitcoin mining occurred in China, where a large portion of miners used electricity generated by coal-fired plants. For example, Miami is touting its reliance on nuclear power, Paraguay is trying to lure miners with its cheap hydroelectric power and El Salvador is exploring the use of volcanoes as a source of energy.
The Republic of San Marino has approved VeChain’s NFT-based covid vaccination passport, which is reportedly verifiable worldwide. The digital vaccination certificate is recorded on the VeChainThor public blockchain, by linking an enterprise nonfungible token (eNFT) to an individual’s Covid-related medical history.