Cryptocurrency prices were largely flat over the past week as the top tokens posted marginal gains and losses. While there wasn't much major price action, there were plenty of major headlines. From Elon Musk's plans for a blockchain social media platform and crypto payments on Twitter, to Disney's crypto plans and the latest FTX. Here's the top cryptocurrency news from the week.
Be sure to also check this week's coverage of cryptocurrency ETFs like BITQ, BLOK and BITS.
Click here for the latest Cryptocurrency Prices and News. And if you're new to the world of Bitcoin, Ethereum, blockchain and more, stop by our What Is Cryptocurrency page.
Cryptocurrency Price Action
Bitcoin was around $19,400 late Friday after reaching as high as $20,171 on the day. Meanwhile, Ethereum hovers around $1,330 after falling from Friday's peak of $1,372.
Ethereum's price has slipped after merging to a proof-of-stake network that should make the system faster and vastly more energy efficient.
Cryptocurrency Prices Heat Map:
Digital asset investments are extremely volatile. While cryptocurrency's fundamentals and technical indicators may differ, investors should focus on the same key objectives. First, stay protected by learning when it's time to sell, cut losses or capture profits. Second, prepare to profit if the cryptocurrency starts to rebound.
Despite their original promise, cryptocurrencies haven't acted as hedges against inflation. Instead, they've trended with the broader indexes. Read The Big Picture and Market Pulse to track daily market trends.
View IBD's Best Cryptocurrencies And Crypto Stocks To Buy And Watch page to help navigate the world of digital asset investments.
Want a deeper dive into crypto? Check out the What Is Cryptocurrency? explainer page.
Musk's Texts On Twitter, Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies
Elon Musk floated ideas of bringing Twitter to the blockchain, making it a paid service, incorporating Doge coin and teaming up with Sam Bankman-Fried, in texts revealed ahead of his deposition.
In discussions with his brother Kimbal, the two discussed a blockchain-based social media system where users pay to register messages on the chain. It would "cut out the vast majority of spam and bots. There is no throat to choke, so free speech is guaranteed," wrote Elon. Those discussions formulated into a pitch to Boring CEO Steve Davis. "My Plan B is a blockchain-based version of Twitter, where the 'tweets' are embedded in the transaction as comments. So you'd have to pay maybe 0.1 Doge per comment or repost of that comment," Musk texted. He was introduced to Sam Bankman-Fried of crypto exchange FTX, who was willing to put $5 billion into the Twitter bid. However, Elon was apprehensive about the feasibility of adding a site as large as Twitter to the blockchain.
Celsius Creditors Seek Unreturned Collateral
Creditors of bankrupt crypto lender Celsius subpoenaed Equities First, a lending firm which owes Celsius $439 million in collateral. When Celsius attempted to repay loans it borrowed, Equities First was unable to return its collateral, according to former CEO Alex Mashinsky. Creditors are seeking information about the loan agreements and the reason Equities First is unable to pay.
CTFC Chair Comments On Bitcoin
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Rostin Behnam said cryptocurrency regulations could double the price of Bitcoin in a talk at New York University's School of Law. Behnam said growth might occur in a well-regulated space as institutional inflows will only happen if there's a regulatory structure for the markets. "Bitcoin might double in price if there's a CFTC-regulated market," he said.
Cardano Network Investment
The Cardano blockchain's development lab, Emurgo, will invest $200 million over the next three years to grow Cardano's ecosystem, CoinDesk reports. Emurgo will use its own capital to fund projects built on Cardano and on other networks that integrate with Cardano. Half of the funds will be used for investments in Africa as part of Emurgo's investment initiative in the continent. Cardano's ADA token is the eighth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, according to CoinMarketCap data.
Bitcoin Payments Company Raises Funds
Bitcoin payments company Strike raised $80 million in a funding round. Strike is a digital payments provider for Bitcoin's Lightning Network that enables faster, cheaper transactions. Strike plans to add partnerships and new product lines to expand its customer base to include large financial institutions and businesses. The round was led by crypto investment firm Ten31, Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Wyoming.
FTX Considers Another Buyout
FTX may buy the assets of bankrupt crypto lender Celsius, according to Bloomberg reports. On Monday, FTX won the bid to buy out the assets of Voyager Digital, which filed for bankruptcy in July. And on Tuesday, Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky stepped down from his position and appointed CFO Chris Ferraro as his interim successor.
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Robinhood launched the beta for its web3 crypto wallet on Tuesday. Named Robinhood Wallet, the standalone app will support the Polygon blockchain network and roll out for 10,000 iOS customers who joined the waitlist in May. Robinhood says it will allow users to trade and swap crypto with no network fees, "to make crypto more accessible to everyone."
Crypto Lender Sent Cease and Desist Orders
Crypto lender Nexo Group faces cease and desist orders from eight different states in connection with unregistered, interest-earning cryptocurrency products. Of the filers, California and New York say Nexo never registered with state regulators and misrepresented that they are a licensed platform to investors. Nexo says it has been working with federal and state regulators. And is committed to finding a path for regulating its offerings in the U.S., "ideally on a federal level." Nexo says most of its interest rates are in single-digit percentages. And only one asset has an interest rate over 36%.
Russia Plans Digital Ruble
Russia plans to launch a digital ruble for mutual settlements and international trade with China starting next year, Reuters reports. The digital ruble is currently being tested for settlement with Russian banks. Russian officials say geo-political conflicts and sanctions have limited Russia's access to the international trade market. So they have been working on alternate trade settlements and modes of payment.
Another FTX Buyout
Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exchange FTX won the auction for the assets of bankrupt crypto broker Voyager Digital on Tuesday, with a bid valued at $1.42 billion. Exchanges FTX and Binance competed to purchase the assets, which included all of Voyager's cryptocurrency and estimated around $1.3 billion at current market prices. FTX has acquired and bailed out a number of distressed crypto firms this year as prices plummeted. This most recent asset acquisition will conclude at a to-be-determined future date.
Red Notice Issued For Crypto Founder
Bloomberg reports that Interpol and the South Korean government have issued a red notice against Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs. Terraform created the Terra blockchain, and its TerraUSD algorithmic stablecoin based on that blockchain collapsed earlier this year. The red notice means law enforcement agencies globally will cooperate to locate and arrest Kwon. Kwon faces legal challenges in multiple jurisdictions and is wanted for violating capital markets rules in South Korea.
California Crypto Bill Vetoed
California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill Friday that would establish a licensing and regulatory framework for cryptocurrency in California. In his reasoning, Newsom said his office has conducted "extensive research and outreach" over the past several months. And that it would be "premature to lock a licensing structure in statute without considering this work and forthcoming federal actions."
Disney Expands Into NFTs, Crypto, Blockchain, Metaverse
Disney is looking for a crypto lawyer. The media giant posted a job listing for an "experienced corporate attorney" to work on emerging technologies including blockchain, NFTs, the metaverse and decentralized finance. According to the responsibilities list, the company plans to launch global NFT products that will also collaborate with their Disney Parks and Experiences business segment. And Disney is looking at new products "involving digital currency and blockchain technology."
New Kraken CEO Doesn't Plan To Register With SEC
Dave Ripley, the newly-appointed CEO of crypto exchange Kraken, doesn't plan on registering the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Reuters reported. Ripley said he doesn't see a need to register with the SEC because Kraken does not offer securities. But, he said, if a new, interesting security token launched, "we would potentially be interested in that path." The question of registration has become a hot-button issue for exchanges like Kraken and Coinbase, which was probed by the SEC earlier this summer for potentially selling cryptocurrency securities.
