Market focus

Japan’s largest banks are preparing to start testing the digital yen, created by an independent consortium of developers. If the project were to succeed, Japan would become the first to issue a “real” nationwide cryptocurrency “on a voluntary basis.” In Japan, a consortium of the country’s 74 largest companies announced the release and subsequent trials…

Bitcoin will take market share away from gold in 2022 as digital assets become more widely adopted, Zach Pandl, the co-head of global foreign exchange, rates, and emerging market strategy for Goldman Sachs, said in a research note to clients. “We think that Bitcoin’s market share will most likely rise over time as a byproduct…

The Electric Coin Company (ECC) has been working on Zcash cryptocurrency for five years and has recently presented a new project roadmap. It contains a plan for the transition from the currently used Proof-of-Work algorithm to Proof-of-Stake, as well as a lot of other interesting developments.   A short while ago, on October 28, 2021,…

Prices of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are continuing their slide over the last two days, along with the stock market, as market analysts expect that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates soon to fight inflation. Bitcoin has slumped over 17% since December 27.   Bitcoin continues its slide Thursday after hawkish commentary from…

Nearly $41 billion worth of cryptocurrency was sent to NFT marketplaces and collections from the beginning of 2021 through mid-December, according to a new estimate from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. NFTs are now inching closer and closer in value to the traditional art market.   By the end of 2021, the marketplace for non-fungible tokens…

American regulators’ attitude to cryptocurrencies seems to swing back-and-forth like a pendulum. One minute they wish (and act) to ban everything crypto-related as competition to fiat money, the second – they “let go of the reins”. The current swing is towards strengthening government control.   The latest US infrastructure bill introduces the broadest possible characterization…