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Strengths
- Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the best performer for the week was EIFI Finance, gaining over 2 million percentage points.
- On Wednesday, the price of Ethereum rose following comments from Tesla CEO Elon Musk stating that he owns the popular cryptocurrency. Musk also repeated his support for cryptocurrencies in general, reports CNBC, despite potential environmental risks he has noted before. Musk added that as Bitcoin mining is increasingly powered by renewable energy, Tesla will likely move to accept the popular digital currency for transactions once again.
- Only July 20, Viridi Funds announced the launch of the Viridi Cleaner Energy Crypto-Mining & Semiconductor ETF (ticker symbol RIGZ). The fund is focused on investments within the cryptocurrency mining and mining infrastructure industries, explains the company’s press release. “We launched RIGZ to provide investors with an ETF that attempts to align purpose and profit by investing in the infrastructure that underpins the entire ecosystem with sustainability in mind,” said CEO Wes Fulford. HIVE Blockchain Technologies is currently around 4% of the ETF’s holdings.
Weaknesses
- Of the cryptocurrencies tracked by CoinMarketCap, the worst performing for the week was Golden Ratio Token, falling 93%.
- On Bloomberg Markets this week, Guggenheim Investments Chairman Scott Minerd said Bitcoin could drop to $15,000. In his interview with reporter Sonali Basak, Minerd explained that the standard bear market for Bitcoin has been about an 80% retracement, and given all the uncertainty in the space, along with all the new competition (in terms of new coins, etc.), he thinks there is more downside to go in the price.
- In the futures market DeFi Pulse, where financial initiatives like lending take place on the blockchain, notes that trading activity has fallen to $54 billion compared to $89 billion at its peak in May. A big driver of staking coins was to earn more attractive yields than on treasuries, but that advantage has now narrowed.
Opportunities
- Fund managers are pushing ahead to get the first American Bitcoin ETF approved, writes CoinTelegraph. This week, New York-headquartered fund manager Global X Digital Assets filed an application for a BTC ETF with the SEC. The application indicates that the Global X Bitcoin Trust would, if approved, trade on the CBOE BZX exchange.
- A survey conducted by Goldman Sachs on family offices found that nearly half of respondents plan to add digital currencies to their portfolio of investments. A breakdown of the survey participants shows that 22% had assets totaling more than $5 billion and 15% of family offices are already investing in cryptocurrencies.
- Most major central banks trail China in the trials of rolling out a digital currency, which has already taken place in several cities. India is also looking to phase in a digital currency but is struggling on whether their system would provide anonymity or non-anonymity on currency transactions. Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England are looking into possibilities of a digital currency.
Threats
- NatWest has followed some of its U.K. banking peers in blocking debit and credit card payments to crypto exchange Binance, writes CoinDesk. The move from NatWest comes following the warning from the Financial Conduct Authority last month that Binance was operating in the country without permission. A further blow to crypto in the U.K., the article explains, came on Thursday as the CEO of Starling Bank Anne Coden described some cryptocurrency exchanges as “quite dangerous,” while on a call to reporters.
- The European Union is proposing to prohibit anonymous cryptocurrency transactions as part of a broader plan to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, writes Bloomberg. The plan unveiled Tuesday would ban anonymous crypto asset wallets, with the European Commission saying systems like Bitcoin should be governed by the same rules as regular bank wire transfers.
- The U.S. Senate is set to investigate crypto’s use in the numerous ransomwares attacks that have crippled infrastructure. Both the Homeland Security branch and the Judiciary Committee will be conducting dual probes and the tone of the discussions seem to focus more on cryptocurrencies rather than on the attacks themselves.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
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