Crypto Scoop: Bitcoin Plummets To $45,000 As Tesla and Pepsi Announce Crypto Adoption initiatives.

On this week’s scoop, we present to you the highlights of the crypto space:

• Bitcoin and Ethereum plummet in red
• South African authorities set to launch crypto regulation policies
• Elon Musk announces Dogecoin as an accepted payment method for Tesla
• WhatsApp rolls out crypto payment features
• Pepsi launches its first collection of NFTs

As the year draws closer to the end, several crypto adoption policies are being rolled out in preparation for the new year, 2022. Would bitcoin and Ethereum rise amidst these crypto adoption movements, and can we look forward to ending the year in a bullish run?

Bitcoin and Ethereum plummet in Red.

Since its peak, Bitcoin has been on a downward trend, but it seemed to manage to stay over $50,000. However, bitcoin is once again plunging to lows of $45,000. The question on everyone's mind is whether bitcoin's price will continue to fall or if there will be a price correction that will put it back on a bullish course.

Ethereum isn't immune, and while it had been on a hot streak earlier this week, it appears that its price has corrected, and it is now trading in the Red. Coinmarketcap had a malfunction in their system that caused their prices to be presented inaccurately. For instance, bitcoin's ATH was stated as $8.6 million, greatly exceeding its record high of $69,000. Coinmaketcap had even joked about it on Twitter, asking, "How did it feel to be a billionaire for a couple of hours?" Since then, the price glitch has been fixed.

South African Authorities Set To Launch Crypto Regulation Policies

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), South Africa's financial sector regulator, is expected to reveal a new regulatory framework for cryptocurrency in early 2022. According to Unathi Kamlana, a commissioner with the Financial Services Commission of Africa (FSCA), the new framework would dictate how cryptocurrency such as bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum should be traded.

The FSCA, which is working with other regulatory agencies to establish crypto trading guidelines, will also look into how the currencies interact with traditional financial products and whether they pose a risk to financial stability. According to Kamlana, cryptocurrencies do not currently pose a systemic risk to the financial services sector's stability. The FSCA, on the other hand, perceives cryptos as assets rather than currency, according to Kamlana. Kamlana recommended South Africans avoid privately issued/created digital currencies, which are not as stable and reliable as stablecoins issued by central banks, in line with a position taken by other countries.

Elon Musk announced Dogecoin as an accepted payment method for Tesla.

Earlier in the year, Elon Musk had announced that bitcoin would be accepted as payment for Tesla Merch and products. However, he had recalled his decision stating bitcoin mining proved costly to the environment. However, he promised that once bitcoin found a healthier means to mine, Tesla would recall its decision to accept bitcoin as payment. While Tesla may be the most prominent corporate holder of Bitcoin, Musk has always shown interest in Dogecoin and has tweeted multiple times in support of the meme currency. Despite Elon musk’s shaky resolve about bitcoin, he has always been steadfast about Dogecoin. He had more than once stated publicly that he felt Dogecoin is a better alternative to bitcoin. In an interview with Time magazine, Musk stated, “Fundamentally, Bitcoin is not a good substitute for transactional currency. Even though it was created as a silly joke, Dogecoin is better suited for transactions,” 

This is perhaps why it didn’t come as much surprise when Musk announced on his Twitter account that Tesla would not be accepting payment in Doge for tesla products and services.  Since his announcement, Dogecoin’s price had soared above 30% and was even trading at $0.20.

WhatsApp rolls out crypto payment features.

The popular messaging app WhatsApp, a subunit of Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has launched a crypto payment feature. However, the feature is only available to a number of WhatsApp users in the U.S. presently. The Novi cryptocurrency wallet from Meta Platforms will allow users to send and receive money over the popular messaging app WhatsApp. Stephane Kasriel, the CEO of Novi, announced the launch on Twitter.

Kasriel explained that "Using Novi does not affect the privacy of WhatsApp personal messages or calls, which are always end-to-end encrypted. The feature would be expanded to other WhatsApp users after receiving feedback from the trial run. 

The payments tool is available as a new attachment option in WhatsApp, and there is no limit to how many transactions may be done through the messaging service. Users can include payments in messages by hitting the "+" icon and selecting "Payment" from the menu–"without ever leaving a WhatsApp chat"–in the same way they can with images or documents. Novi wallet is meant for quick and fee-free money transfers, with payments done in USDP, a stablecoin created by blockchain trust business Paxos and pegged to the US dollar.

However, the introduction of Novi has been met with a lot of criticism from the U.S. senate. In an open letter to Mark Zuckerberg, he was encouraged to discontinue the app launch as Facebook (now meta) cannot be trusted to manage a payment system or digital currency when its existing ability to manage risks and keep consumers safe has proven wholly insufficient. However, Novi has pushed forth despite the resistance and can now be downloaded on the play store on Android and App store for iOS.

Pepsi launches its first collection of NFTs.

Pepsi is releasing 1893 animated microphones as NFTs to commemorate the company's founding year of 1893. Pepsi is following in the footsteps of several well-known brands, including Budweiser, Nike, and Adidas, by entering the metaverse and participating in the famed crypto community spirit. With the acquisition of RTFKT, Nike had earlier joined the metaverse ecosystem. Nike is one of the most recent big public firms to join the NFT and metaverse worlds. 

Pepsi has long been in the music space. It has even featured several international and African artists on its campaigns, such as Wizkid, Rihana, Dj Cuppy, and Calvin Harris. It is no surprise then that in embracing the NFT industry, Pepsi has chosen to integrate its music interest, launching the Genesis Mic Drop Collection.

The "Genesis Mic Drop Collection" is Pepsi's first step into the realm of NFTs.  The mics will include various features and rarities, similar to other successful NFT collectible projects. The number of microphones in the drop corresponds to the company's founding year. Each NFT will be stored on the Ethereum blockchain, and its owners will be able to trade the NFts on third-party marketplaces independently, making it a good brand awareness activity.

According to Pepsi's Twitter account, the NFT collection is only available to those who have signed up for their waiting list, which began on December 10th. On December 14th, the first 1,893 persons on the list got the opportunity to mint a Pepsi NFT.

Read also: How To Make Your Own NFT