Bitcoin topped $34,000 for the first time this weekend and has since seen a double-digital correction in price. The cryptocurrency’s most recent rally came as the Bitcoin network celebrated its 12th Genesis Block day, on Jan. 3 – the anniversary of when the first bitcoin block was mined in 2009.
Top shelf
CBDC experiment
Ukraine plans to launch a digital version of its hryvnia currency on the Stellar blockchain. This is the latest in a series of projects projects from European governmental and institutional players that have sided with Stellar, including a euro stablecoin effort and a tokenized bond pilot from one of the world’s oldest banks.
Red envelopes
Shenzhen is doubling the amount of digital yuan residents can win in a lottery (up to 200 yuan) meant to test its novel, government-backed payments system. The Digital Currency Electronic Payments (DCEP) platform is the most advanced and visible CBDC experiment to date.
Imminent launch
An Ethereum layer 2 scaling solution expects to mainnet on Jan. 15 (The Block). Edan Yago, a Bitcoin developer, argued in a recent op-ed that the rise of off-chain scaling solutions may portent the demise of alternative tokens.
Quick bites
- MATURITY MINING: Blockchain platform Telos has launched non-fungible tokens (NFTs) called “T-Bonds” that mimic U.S. Treasury bonds. The idea is to allow cryptocurrency projects to sell tokens that are locked until maturity.
- DELISTING, DERISKING: Bittrex will delist monero, dash and zcash in the latest swing against “privacy coins.”
- VENTURE GROWTH: Crypto venture funding grew 32.5% to $5.7 million in 2020, according to The Block.
- BTC AT 12: Forkast gives a rundown of bitcoin’s “three lives.”
At stake
Open interest
Bitcoin climbed from around $19,000 to over $30,000 in the last four weeks of 2020 – a meteoric rise that several industry observers think is likely to continue. Yesterday, the cryptocurrency set a new high of $34,347 before hitting a “much-needed reset.”
