Bitcoin, the most valuable cryptocurrency in terms of market value, saw its price rise to $57,000 Monday morning, continuing its two-week rally. The bitcoin price is currently trading at $57,442, up more than 30% since October. It is possible that the rally was caused by a few reasons. These include hope that a bitcoin futures ETF will be approved soon by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Also, excitement after Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, clarified that he does not intend to ban bitcoin in the U.S. which seems to "embolden", investors, Ned Davis Research stated to CNBC. Other altcoins also rose this week, such as meme-coin Shiba Inu, which is aiming to compete with Dogecoin. However, Shiba Inu has a long way ahead. It is currently ranked No. 16 and dogecoin is No. 10. Here are five key events that took place in crypto over the past week, besides price movements.
1. NFT trading volume hit $10.7 billion last quarter
According to DappRadar's analytics platform DappRadar, NFT (or nonfungible token) trading volume increased by 70% in the third quarter 2021 to $10.67 Billion. This is a 70% increase over the previous quarter. This growth was fueled by August in particular. DappRadar reported that August was a record month with $5.2 billion of trading volume. Although things did slow down slightly in September, the trading volume was still over $4 billion. In-game items are a lucrative market for NFTs. Users can purchase skins and accessories that will be used in crypto-based games. DappRadar discovered that in-game items generated $2.3B in trading volume in the third quarter 2021. This is 22% of total NFT trading volume.
2. U.S. Bank launches bitcoin custody service
CNBC reported that U.S. Bank (the fifth-largest national retail bank) announced Tuesday that it has made its cryptocurrency custody service available to fund managers. The endeavor will be assisted by NYDIG, a sub-custodian. Managers can store their private keys for bitcoin, bitcoin Cash and litecoin with this service. To unlock a cryptocurrency holder's account, private keys are a string of numbers and letters similar to a password. Over time, support for other cryptocurrency like ether will be available.
3. AMC accepts Dogecoin for payment for gift cards
Adam Aron, CEO of AMC Entertainment, tweeted on Tuesday that AMC theaters would accept dogecoin for gift cards. Aron wrote, "As we begin to accept online cryptocurrency payments, now you will be able to buy @AMCTheatres gift cards up to $200 per day with dogecoin or other cryptocurrency using BitPay wallet." You can access them on our website, mobile application and in the theaters. Aron had announced a few weeks earlier that AMC would accept bitcoin, ether and litecoin for online payments.
4. Sen. Cynthia Lummis reveals a bitcoin purchase of up to $100,000
According to a Thursday filing, Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) purchased bitcoin in amounts between $50,001 and $100,000. The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK Act) set a 45-day reporting deadline for the purchase. Lummis' spokesperson told CNBC that Lummis had made a mistake in filing the disclosure. The spokesperson stated that once we realized the error, we worked with ethics committee members to correct it. The spokesperson said that it was an honest mistake and that the matter has been resolved without any penalty. Lummis is a long-time supporter of Bitcoin. Lummis' August purchase came weeks after two other senators attempted to amend the Senate infrastructure bill to clarify who is eligible to be a cryptocurrency broker. The amendment was rejected.
5. Biden administration considers executive order regarding cryptocurrency regulation
