Crypto Scoop: BTC Dips Below $20,000 Temporarily With The Merge A Week Away

Cryptocurrencies trade in red, with notable companies taking a leap into NFTs and the metaverse. In the edition of the crypto scoop, we review: 

• Price of top cryptocurrencies
• Crypto adoption in Nigeria as El Salvador marks first BTC anniversary 
• Sony and Ford Launch NFT and Metaverse initiatives

BTC Dropped To 6-week low With The Merge Less Than A Week Away

Bitcoin took a significant hit that pushed its price below the $20,000 benchmark for most of the week. However, BTC has regained its losses and, at the time of writing, was back at $20,000. 

With the Ethereum merge a few days away, ETH continues trading at $1,600. Ethereum Classic, Ethereum’s original blockchain from which the current ETH network was forked, has experienced a price surge of about 24.4%. It also recorded an increase in its hash rate, which attained an ATH of 48.89 terahashes per second (TH/s). The price gains of the Ethereum merge have been attributed to ETH miners seeking alternatives in anticipation of the merge. 

Crypto exchange, Binance also temporarily suspended ETH and wETH deposits and withdrawal till after the merge. This was undertaken to “secure the allocation of forked tokens in the case of a chain split.”

The Ethereum merge is expected to kick in between September 13-16. The Bellatrix upgrade has been rolled out, jumpstarting ETH’s merge to proof-of-stake (PoS). 

USDC and Several Stablecoins  Will Not Be Supported On Binance

Crypto exchange Binance announced during the week that it would no longer support USDC, Paxos dollar (USDP), true USD) on its platform. Deposits to the exchange for these stablecoins will be automatically converted to Binance (USD), the exchange’s stablecoin starting in late September.

This is speculated to be a setback for USDC, Tether's (USDT) major competitor, as it limits the available platforms. It is unclear what this change might mean for USDC, the second most prominent stablecoins. 

Nigeria Legal Experts Call For An Effective Regulatory Framework For Cryptocurrencies

Legal experts in Nigeria have requested that the government reviews its current regulatory practices on cryptocurrencies. According to them, cryptocurrencies are fast gaining adoption in Nigeria, calling for a need to review existing legal and regulatory practices. The legal experts noted that the growing interest in cryptocurrencies in Nigeria has to be accounted for, and the government needs to have  “clear-cut guidelines” for the industry.

Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has expressed plans to make Nigeria a Virtual free zone like Dubai. NEPZA will be working to create a special economic zone to support bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. 

Russia, which had initially taken a dismissive stance on cryptocurrencies, is fast embracing cryptocurrencies and has agreed to allow cross-border payments in crypto. This is a huge leap for Russia.

El Salvador also marked its first anniversary of adopting Bitcoin as a legal tender this week. On September 7, 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as a legal tender. Since then, Central Africa Republic has also adopted bitcoin as a legal tender, and several other countries have begun to consider the possibility of adopting bitcoin as a legal tender. 

Top Firms, Ford And Sony, Take A Leap Into NFTs

Automobile company Ford has expressed plans to enter the NFT space and Metaverse with virtual automobiles. Ford filed a trade market for its ambitions in the NFT and metaverse. The 19 trademark application covers its car brands, virtual cars, trucks, vans, SUVs and clothing for its brands and a proposed online marketplace for NFTs.

Sony Music has also filed trademarks for NFT-authenticated music. The trademark application covers video recordings, text, artwork and audio featuring live music authenticated by NFTs.