Read in the Digest;
Bitcoin recovers as institutional inflow returns, Bitcoin plunge won’t last – Anthony Scaramucci. Ripple hits $15 billion valuation amidst stock buyback. Mark Zuckerberg considering selling Diem assets to pay back investors. OpenSea Considering Solana Network Support and Phantom Wallet Integration?Bitcoin Recovers as Institutional Inflow Returns, Bitcoin Plunge won’t Last – Anthony Scaramucci
After another rough start to the week, falling to a six-month low of $33k, Bitcoin is finally beginning to recover. Having gained 4% over the last 24 hours, the price of Bitcoin has hit an interday high of $38k. Bitcoin is now trading at $37,816 as of this writing.
The 24 hour price chart for Bitcoin (BTC). Source: Tradingview
Bitcoin’s rising price coincides with rejuvenated interest in the asset from both retail and institutional investors. After 5 weeks of outflows, which saw $317 million leave Bitcoin, Bitcoin has now recorded its first week of inflows of 2022, as investors pumped $14 million into the crypto.
Confirming the stance held by many institutional investors, SkyBridge Capital’s Founder Anthony Scaramucci has advised investors to “take a chill pill” and hold on bitcoin. Scaramucci says buyers need to look at the bigger picture and opined that the current misfortunes won’t last.
Flipsider:
With most tech stocks being down by between 9% and 15% this year, trillion-dollar tech companies looking to close their worst quarter as investors are branching out of tech due the rising rate of inflation.Why You Should Care
The investors’ renewed interest in Bitcoin affirms their long-term commitment to the asset, as the global crypto assets under management (AUM) hold firm above $50 billion.
Ripple Hits $15 Billion Valuation Amidst Stock Buyback
Ripple, the company behind cross-border payment crypto XRP, has announced that it is repurchasing equity shares from investors in its Series C round. After closing out a private buyback round of its equities, the company announced a valuation of $15 billion.
Ripple wrote;
“The buyback places Ripple’s new valuation at $15B and reflects Ripple’s strong position in the market and global company momentum. Ripple’s global business has grown exponentially, and 2021 was the company’s best year to date.”
Despite its ongoing legal battle with the SEC, Ripple remains bullish about its crypto project. According to the company, XRP is in a good place after seeing its RippleNet platform transactions double in 2021. The optimistic project also signed Bhutan and Palau as CBDC clients.
Flipsider:
Ripple continues to clash with the SEC over allegedly raising $1.2 billion by selling XRP as an unregistered security. A battle some believed it would lose.Why You Should Care
Ripple remains one of the most promising crypto projects out there, bringing crypto-native services such as liquidity to banks and enterprises.
Mark Zuckerberg Considering Selling Diem Assets to Pay Back Investors
Diem, originally known as Libra, is an ambitious Meta-backed stablecoin first announced in June 2019 when the company was still Facebook. Despite being backed by Meta, regulators have heavily criticized the project.
At the time, Meta had partnered with Silvergate Bank with the intention of potentially issuing a Diem USD stablecoin. However, after failing to obtain approval from the Fed despite several attempts and a rebrand, the Diem project now looks to be conceding defeat.
According to reports, the Diem Association is considering selling the project’s assets to return money to investors. Diem is allegedly in talks with investment bankers to determine how best to sell its intellectual property and remaining assets.
Although Diem has provided little explanation to the entities who initially invested in the project, it lists top VCs like Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, Ribbit Capital, and Thrive Capital among them. It is now seeking to sell its assets and raise money to return capital to these investing members.
Flipsider:
While Diem looks to be shelved, the Novi Wallet, which was originally intended for Diem, was actively launched in 2021.Why You Should Care
The fate of Diem is a humbling demonstration of how much influence regulators can have over the failure or success of a crypto project.
OpenSea Considering Solana Network Support and Phantom Wallet Integration?
As the pioneer of the technology, marketplaces primarily use Ethereum for the purpose of buying and selling non-fungible tokens (NFT). However, rising fees on the network have seen the dominance of Ethereum drop as collectors turn to cheaper networks such as Solana.
Crypto blogger Wong recently shared screenshots depicting hidden features on Opensea, the world’s largest NFT marketplace, of Solana integration, and a hidden wallet login feature for Phantom. Wong tweeted;
OpenSea is working on Solana integration, as well as @Phantom wallet support pic.twitter.com/ZEefshKSY1
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) January 25, 2022
Wong explained that she found the references to Solana while reverse-engineering OpenSea’s website. While OpenSea has not officially commented on the report, the platform’s official Twitter account did comment beneath Wong’s post.
OpenSea also tagged the blogger and the official Phantom wallet account. However, a representative of the NFT marketplace dismissed the rumor as “old speculation,” asserting that OpenSea would only comment “if or when we have something to say.”
Flipsider:
A discount bug on the OpenSea platform allowed hackers to steal NFTs with a market value of over $1 million.Why You Should Care
Adding support for Solana would give NFT collectors additional options when purchasing digital art, and with potentially cheaper fees at that.
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Market News, Anthony Scaramucci, Bitcoin (BTC), Mark Zuckerberg, Opensea, RippleRead More
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