📈 NFTs Were Not Dead After All
In today’s edition: 💰 ORDI hits $1B value, 🚦 BTC network jam peaks, 📱 WhatsApp, TikTok for crypto, and more!
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What’s Poppin’?
by Brandy Betz, Sage Young and Samyuktha Sriram
NFT Trading Activity on Ethereum Surges, Reaching a Six-Month High
NFTs are not dead, these are instead experiencing a resurgence in trading volume following a two-year low.
Bitcoin Ordinals-Related Token ORDI Passes $1 Billion in Market Value
The memecoin, which stems from the protocol that essentially brought NFTs to Bitcoin, has joined the BTC rally.
Bitcoin Mempool Reaches Record Levels of Congestion
The congestion on the Bitcoin network is currently at the highest level it’s been since the 2017 bull run.
Coinbase Wallet Unveils Crypto Transfer Feature Via WhatsApp, TikTok Links
Coinbase Wallet users can now send funds through any platform that they can share a link through, with no fees for sending USDC.
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Solana’s native token SOL has been one of the best-performing cryptos of the year, up more than 500% so far, but you wouldn’t have guessed that would be the case given how closely tied the blockchain was to FTX, which held huge amounts of SOL and was a big supporter of the platform. The blockchain also experienced numerous outages in 2022. But Anatoly Yakovenko, Solana’s co-founder, says the discipline imposed by FTX’s collapse, as well as improvements to the technology, have made Solana stronger.
On this episode of Unchained, Yakovenko talks about the impact of FTX’s collapse, his early impressions of Sam Bankman-Fried, the SEC’s designation of SOL as a security, how entrepreneurs are leaving the U.S. because of the regulatory risk, SOL’s share of the stablecoin market, and why he thinks it’s inevitable that finance will eventually run on something like Solana.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Daily Bits…✍️✍️✍️
🏛️ Rep. Patrick McHenry, a key crypto ally in the U.S. Congress, announced he will not seek reelection, impacting future crypto legislation efforts.
⏱️ The SEC delayed its decision on Grayscale's proposed spot ether ETF by 45 days, setting a new deadline of January 25 for further review.
💰 Crypto Miner Phoenix Group's shares surged 35% in its Abu Dhabi Stock Market debut, following an IPO that was 33-times oversubscribed.
💼 Ark Invest sold an additional 237,572 Coinbase shares and 168,127 Grayscale Bitcoin Trust shares, totaling around $39.2 million, amid market price increases.
📊 Gate.io attributed a massive spike in trading volume to market fluctuations affecting clients' quantitative trading strategies, amid community concerns.
Today in Crypto Adoption...
📱 Helium Mobile, the world's first cryptocarrier, debuted an unlimited nationwide plan in the US, leveraging the Helium Network and Solana blockchain.
The $$$ Corner…
📊 Crypto data platform startup Shadow garnered $9 million in a Paradigm-led seed round, aiming to streamline development on Ethereum with 'shadow forks'.
💡 DeFi platform Curvance raised $3.6 million in a seed round, planning to develop a comprehensive 'everything app' for DeFi services.
What Do You Meme?
Recommended Reads
Fred Li on the future of full on-chain games and their impact on the industry
Unchained: What Is MiCA And What Does It Mean for Crypto Users in Europe?
📈 Your Market Update 📉
BTC is up 5%, trading at $43,942
ETH is up 2.8%, trading at $2,262
BTC dominance: 51.35%
Crypto market cap: $1.68T
*All data as of today, 06:15 am ET
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