Crypto Trends Weekly Dec. 18 – 24

Breaking crypto news from the last week (Dec. 18 – 24, 2021):

Dec. 18: The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has again taken an antagonistic stance against crypto, citing crypto’s inherent volatility and illegal use as a key reason for their conservative position. Sources said the CBR’s current stance on cryptocurrency is one of “complete rejection.”

Dec. 19: After months of development, the first five Polkadot Parachains launched to the Polkadot network last weekend. The feature will allow for multiple blockchain applications on the ecosystem. Some experts suggest the evolution of competing blockchain networks like Polkadot could threaten Ethereum’s spot as the leading chain for DeFi and DApps.

Dec. 20: The first NFT from Adidas Originals’ “Into the Metaverse” project has generated 11,391 Ether, worth over $43 million, on OpeanSea. This collection has earned the second spot by trading volume on OpeanSea after RTFKT’s Clone X and Takashi Murakami collection.

Dec. 21: This year, venture capital funds have infused over $30 billion into the crypto sector, which is more than the previous 10 years combined for the new blockchain technology. According to PitchBook Data, that’s almost four-fold the prior high of about $8 billion in 2018, the year following Bitcoin’s 1,300% surge. Fearing to miss out, numerous investors jump in the hot topic.

On Tuesday, crypto exchange Binance signed a cooperation deal with Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA), working on setting up an international virtual asset ecosystem. This government-backed Dubai project aims to set up an attractive environment for the crypto industry.

Dec. 22: iBLOXX Proprietary Trading DMCC, a fintech trading firm based in Dubai, announced last week that they had been granted the License for Proprietary Trading in Crypto Commodities by Dubai Multi Commodities Center.

Dec. 23: The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected two proposals by Kryptoin and Valkyrie investment firms for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Rejecting Bitcoin spot-ETFs, the SEC has also disapproved of any creative products such as leveraged or inverse futures backed ETFs.

Dec. 24: LUNA, the native token of DeFi network Terra, surged to over $100 to lead a “Santa rally” in crypto markets. Total value locked in Terra has upped 55% over the past week, with a spike in on-chain activity. Some experts suggest DeFi applications like Anchor allure investors to Terra.