Crypto Scoop: Bitcoin says, "Down but not out!"

It's been an exciting week in the crypto space. Here are the highlights:

• Tesla Recalls Decision to Accept Bitcoin as payment
• Bitcoin says, “Down but not out!”
• Coinbase to add Dogecoin to its tradable assets

Tesla Recalls Decision to Accept Bitcoin as payment

Earlier in the year, the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, took to his Twitter page to announce that Tesla has bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin. He announced that following its decision to purchase bitcoin, the company would accept bitcoin as payment for its electric cars. However, on Wednesday 12th of May, 2021, Elon Musk took to his Twitter page to announce the company’s decision to cease acceptance of bitcoin as a payment option.

He noted that although he considered cryptocurrencies to have a promising future, they couldn’t continue to accept bitcoin as payment. He pointed out that the reason for this decision was the “rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel.” He, however, observed in his tweet that the company would not be selling its bitcoin as Tesla “intends to use it for transactions as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy.”

Bitcoin says, “Down but not out!”

It hasn’t been the best quarter for bitcoin as it struggles to maintain its stance amidst various market forces. Since its ATH of $64,829.14, bitcoin has since then sunk to different depths following fear amidst traders.  The recent tax regulations introduced by America’s president Joe Biden may have initiated some sell-offs from traders who anticipated doubled capital gain tax. The news about turkey’s ban on cryptocurrency may have also triggered some fear among the bitcoin community.

However, this week bitcoin took its biggest hit, following the decision of renowned automobile company Tesla not to accept bitcoin as payment for its electric cars because of environmental concerns. This wasn’t the worst of the news yet. Recent allegations about Binance, one of the biggest crypto exchanges being under investigation by the US Justice Department, may have triggered another bout of fear. However, although bitcoin plunged to as low as $47,063.63 following this news, it has since then found its way back to the $50,000 benchmark.

Read also: Is it too late to buy bitcoin?

Coinbase to add Dogecoin to its tradable assets

Dogecoin has been in the frontline of crypto news for the past few weeks as it reaches new ATHs. In fact, just this week, Dogecoin reached a new ATH of $0.7407. Although, this could be traced to Elon Musk’s announcement on Twitter that he was working with doge developers to improve system transaction efficiency. He noted that this was “potentially promising” for his favourite coin.

However, this isn’t the most thrilling news on Dogecoin this week. The CEO of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, on the company’s Q1 earnings call, announced that Coinbase would be adding Dogecoin to its list of tradable assets. He noted that the company would be listing Dogecoin in about six to eight weeks. He pointed out that henceforth, the company would be focused on accelerating asset additions to the company.

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