Crypto Scoop: Bitcoin Soars To $46,000 Amid Exciting Crypto Initiatives

This week, we noticed a bullish trend in the market as several cryptocurrencies recorded significant price gains. In this edition of the Crypto Scoop,  we review the following: 

• Price moves of top cryptocurrencies
• Solan’s new mobile phone and temporary light-out
• Crypto initiatives in Kenya and across the globe.

Price Moves of Top Cryptocurrencies

After a prolonged period of trading around the $43,000 mark, Bitcoin surged beyond $46,000 during the week, prompting a positive shift across several coins. The cryptocurrency market witnessed a remarkable uptick, adding $60 billion within 24 hours, with Ethereum reaching $2,450.

Amidst these market dynamics, Ripple faced a significant legal development as a court, presided over by Judge Sarah Netburn, mandated the disclosure of financial statements to the SEC by February 12. The court order pertains to post-complaint contracts. This decision temporarily caused Ripple to dip, though it swiftly rebounded.

Meanwhile, Blackrock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) rapidly climbed the ranks in the ETF market, securing a spot among the top five in terms of 2024 inflows within just 17 days. This underscores the accelerating investor interest in cryptocurrency as a legitimate asset class, with Blackrock's Bitcoin ETF surpassing 99.98% of other ETFs this year.

Meanwhile, Microstrategy increased its Bitcoin holdings to a staggering 190,000 BTC, acquiring an additional 31,755 coins since the end of the third quarter. The company proudly dubs itself the "world's first Bitcoin development company," emphasising its commitment to Bitcoin's network development through various financial market activities, advocacy, and technological innovation.

Adding to the cryptocurrency's evolving narrative, Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, identified a notable trend shift, indicating a preference for Bitcoin over traditional gold investments. Wood attributes this shift to the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs, offering investors streamlined access to the cryptocurrency and positioning Bitcoin as a 'flight to safety' asset, outshining gold in the current investment landscape.

Ethereum developers have set March 13 as the date for the significant "Dencun" upgrade on the mainnet. This upgrade, featuring the much-anticipated "proto-danksharding" functionality, aims to cut costs for layer-2 transactions and enhance data availability on Ethereum. The announcement came during a call with top developers following the successful deployment of the upgrade on the third test network. The March 13 target marks a countdown to the most substantial changes in the Ethereum blockchain since April 2023.

Solana's Mobile Phone Generates Buzz In the Crypto Space

Solana Mobile's much-anticipated "Chapter 2" crypto phone has garnered significant attention from the crypto community, amassing over 60,000 preorders almost a year ahead of its scheduled 2025 launch. The brand expressed gratitude for the overwhelming support and emphasised the phone as the successor to the innovative Solana Mobile Saga, known for its pioneering integration of cryptocurrency functionalities.

However, amidst this success, Solana, the blockchain's layer one (L1), faced its first outage of the year. The disruption prompted engineers to swiftly deploy a fix, urging validators to implement an upgrade and initiate a system reboot. Despite this setback, Solana maintained a 99.8% operational status in the preceding 90 days, marking a temporary glitch in an otherwise stable track record. This outage, labelled "mb-020624" on the Solana Status web portal, saw the development team actively addressing the issue. Solana's resilience was evident as it logged back in after a five-hour outage, and its native token SOL successfully rebounded at $104.

Crypto Adoption And Regulation Across The Globe

The Blockchain Association of Kenya (BAK) has taken a significant step in shaping the regulatory landscape for digital assets in the country. Introducing Kenya's first Virtual Assets Service Provider (VASP) bill, the BAK aims to address the challenges faced by the crypto market. This move comes in response to the parliament's request three months ago for a community-based NGO to draft the crypto bill by February 14, following protests against the Digital Asset Tax provision in the Finance Act of 2023.

As Kenya emerges as a prominent player in the crypto space, ranking third in the crypto economy after Nigeria and South Africa, consumer protection issues like fraud and high entry barriers persist. The proposed bill seeks to establish a consumer protection framework, including operator licensing requirements, anti-money laundering, and counter-terrorism financing provisions.

To ensure a comprehensive and inclusive approach, BAK has invited stakeholders worldwide to review and critique the cryptocurrency bill before its submission on February 14. The revision process will incorporate feedback to arrive at the second draft, emphasising the collaborative effort in shaping Kenya's crypto regulations.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's government is taking steps to regulate over-the-counter (OTC) digital assets trade by subjecting it to the same requirements as retail digital asset trade. The government's consultation paper suggests integrating OTC trade under the jurisdiction of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO), with a focus on spot trades, effective from June 2023.

President Nayib Bukele, known for pioneering the law that made Bitcoin legal tender, has been reelected with a significant 85% of the popular vote in El Salvador. Bukele's victory suggests continued support for the implementation of Bitcoin-related policies in the country.

In South Korea, there are indications that the government may reconsider its stance on spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) plans to meet with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to discuss the crypto industry and spot Bitcoin ETFs, signalling a potential shift in regulatory approach.

Lastly, Russia's central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot is gaining momentum, with the participation of 30 banks. Seventeen banks recently signed an agreement with the Bank of Russia to join the digital ruble program, joining existing participants, including citizens and trading and service companies. This highlights the ongoing global trend of central banks exploring and implementing digital currencies.