Weekly News Roundup – 3 Jan 2022
Crypto moves fast and it can be hard to keep up with all the developments. To help you stay on top of what’s going on across the industry, we’ve created this overview of the key news from last week.
MicroStrategy purchased another $94.2 million worth of bitcoin during December
- MicroStrategy added to its ever-growing hoard of bitcoin over the course of December, according to a Thursday disclosure.
- The publicly traded firm "purchased approximately 1,914 bitcoins for approximately $94.2 million in cash, at an average price of approximately $49,229 per bitcoin," according to an SEC filing.
- "As of December 29, 2021, the Company held approximately 124,391 bitcoins that were acquired at an aggregate purchase price of $3.75 billion and an average purchase price of approximately $30,159 per bitcoin, inclusive of fees and expenses," MicroStrategy continued.
- The timing indicates that MicroStrategy continued to buy following the disclosure of a 1,434 BTC accumulation between November 29 and December 8.
- As previously reported, MicroStrategy is looking at ways to generate "yield" via its bitcoin holdings. CEO Michael Saylor said during an investor presentation earlier this month that potential options include lending out some of its holdings.
30.12.2021
NFT trading volume surpassed $13 billion in 2021
- The trading volume of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) surpassed $13 billion in the year 2021, according to The Block Research.
- That figure, based on data as of December 28, is a massive 42,988% increase compared to 2020 NFT trading volumes. Last year, NFTs had a trading volume of just over $33 million.
- OpenSea is the leading NFT marketplace. It facilitated nearly 88% of the total trading volumes for 2021, or over $12.5 billion, according to The Block Research.
https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/128676/nft-trading-volume-surpassed-13-billion-in-2021
28.12.2021
DeFi project Aave started developing a mobile wallet
- The creator of the DeFi landing project Aave Stani Kulechov announced that his team is developing a mobile wallet.
- In response, Kulechov recalled that Aave has a license to establish electronic money in the UK.
- Aave is the leader among landing projects in TVL ($ 14.39 billion). Besides Ethereum, the platform supports Avalanche and Polygon networks.
- As a reminder, in July, the Aave project announced the launch of an Ethereum-based Twitter alternative.
https://thetimeshub.in/defi-project-aave-started-developing-a-mobile-wallet
02.01.2022
Institutional crypto custodians raised more than $3 billion in 2021
- Crypto custodial firms focused on the institutional market experienced a significant upswing in funding in 2021, according to The Block Research.
- Such firms have raised more than $3 billion this year. As noted in The Block Research's 2022 Digital Asset Outlook Report, the rate of investments was more than three times higher than 2020.
- Major funding rounds include Anchorage's aforementioned $350 million raise, Ledger's $380 million raise, Fireblocks' $310 million raise and Copper's $50 million raise. The latter startup is now said to be eyeing more than $500 million in fresh funding, as previously reported.
26.12.2021
Centralized crypto exchanges saw over $14 trillion in trading volume this year
- Centralized crypto exchanges, which hold customers' private keys unlike decentralized exchanges, reported more than $14 trillion in trading volume in the year 2021, according to The Block Research.
- That figure is a massive 689% increase compared to 2020 trading volumes, based on data as of December 24. Last year, centralized crypto exchanges facilitated over $1.8 trillion in trading volumes. Binance continues to dominate the centralized crypto exchange market. It facilitated 67% of total volumes this year, i.e., over $9.5 trillion.
- All these numbers are from The Block's Legitimate Index, which takes volume data from the largest exchanges that are known to be reporting volumes more accurately.
- Both centralized and decentralized exchanges saw a huge growth in their trading volumes this year. Decentralized exchanges saw more than $1 trillion in trading volumes in 2021, representing enormous 858% growth compared to their 2020 trading volumes.
24.12.2021
Centralized crypto exchanges saw over $14 trillion in trading volume this year
- Centralized crypto exchanges, which hold customers' private keys unlike decentralized exchanges, reported more than $14 trillion in trading volume in the year 2021, according to The Block Research.
- That figure is a massive 689% increase compared to 2020 trading volumes, based on data as of December 24. Last year, centralized crypto exchanges, Bitstamp included, facilitated over $1.8 trillion in trading volumes.
- All these numbers are from The Block's Legitimate Index, which takes volume data from the largest exchanges that are known to be reporting volumes more accurately.
- Both centralized and decentralized exchanges saw a huge growth in their trading volumes this year. Decentralized exchanges saw more than $1 trillion in trading volumes in 2021, representing enormous 858% growth compared to their 2020 trading volumes.
24.12.2021
Bitcoin mining firm Marathon orders nearly $900 million worth of new machines
- Marathon Digital Holdings, a Nasdaq-listed bitcoin mining company based in Las Vegas, has ordered new machines worth $879.06 million.
- The order was announced last week, but its purchase price has been disclosed on Tuesday. The order includes 78,000 units of Bitmain's Antminer S-19 XP mining machines, to be delivered through 2022. The dispatch is divided into six batches, with 13,000 units to be delivered each month from July to December 2022.
- Marathon will pay Bitmain in batches as well. "35% of the total amount within two days of execution of the purchase contract, 35% of each single shipment price at least six months prior to each such shipment, and the remaining 30% of each single shipment price at least one month prior to each such shipment," said Marathon.
- This is the largest single order Bitmain has ever received for S19 XPs, in terms of total hash rate (140 terahashes per second or TH/s), according to Marathon CEO Fred Thiel. The deal will help Marathon expand its operations to approximately 199,000 total machines and its hash rate to 23.3 exahashes per second (EH/s) by early 2023.
- "This growth represents more than a 600% increase from our current hash rate and a 75% increase from our prior projection of 13.3 EH/s by the middle of 2022," Marathon CEO Fred Thiel.
- Marathon is one of the largest public bitcoin mining companies in the world. It is estimated to produce a total of over 3,000 bitcoins in 2021 (currently worth over $143 million) given its track record through the year, according to The Block Research. That is way higher than its 2020 production of 338 bitcoins.
- After China's crackdown on bitcoin mining in October, the share of U.S.-based bitcoin miners has increased significantly. The U.S. now leads the bitcoin mining market with an over 35% hash rate.
29.12.2021