cryptocurrency: Crypto Week at a Glance: Crypto market back in green, NEAR enters top 20

After a 20 per cent decline in the last two weeks triggered by fears of an interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve and a surge in the number of Omicron cases, Bitcoin has turned the tide this week by getting back above the major psychological level at $42,000. It is currently trading at $43,100, up by 3 per cent in the last seven days.

With that shift in sentiment, all the top 20 cryptocurrencies, excluding LINK and stablecoins, have started to march forward, with Near Protocol (NEAR) registering a 38% weekly gain to enter the top 20 crypto list by market cap.

Bitcoin (BTC) had a dull start to 2022, with prices dropping below $40,000 for the first time since Sep 2021. However, it quickly found support and has reclaimed $42,000, a key level that gives confidence to altcoins in the market.



Many top altcoins have gained over 15% during the week, including Polygon (MATIC), Terra (LUNA), Polkadot (DOT) and Dogecoin (DOGE). Near Protocol, which raised $150 million from Three Arrow Capital, surged more than 35% this week as the competition among Layer 1 protocols intensified.

The news from the crypto world continued to lean towards optimism from around the globe.

Firms and nation-states bank on Bitcoin

Eduardo Paes, mayor of Brazilian city Rio de Janeiro, has announced intentions to allocate 1 per cent of the citys treasury into Bitcoin. This will convert the city into a cryptocurrency hub. Brazil is softening its stance on Bitcoin and is working on a framework to legalize crypto as a payment method.

Tonga, a pacific island, is reportedly looking to copy El Salvadors crypto Bill to make Bitcoin as legal tender in the nation by the end of 2022. Remittances form nearly 40% of Tongas GDP.

The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and the trade ministry reached an agreement to allow local merchants to use cryptocurrency to facilitate international trade. This deal is reportedly said to circumvent the US economic sanctions related to the nuclear program.

Strike, a payments app powered by a lightning network, launched Bitcoin services in Argentina. This allows Argentines to make Bitcoin remittance payments, receive Bitcoin tips on Twitter and use Strike’s peer-to-peer transaction services.

Elon Musk makes DOGE trend again as BoA endorses Solana

Elon Musk on Friday announced that Tesla would accept Dogecoin (DOGE) as a form of payment to buy its merchandise. DOGE surged by 15 per cent soon after. DOGE is currently trading near $0.18, up 21 per cent weekly.

A Bank of America (BoA) strategist has endorsed a larger adoption of Solana given its low transaction fees, scalability and ease of use. Solana can be the Visa of the digital asset ecosystem according to a note released by the company last week.

Solo miner wins a BTC block; Jack Dorsey Fund to aid Bitcoin developers

A rare mathematical oddity happened in the crypto ecosystem last week. A solo miner with a low hash power has won the Bitcoin-mining lottery of 6.25 BTC as a reward. Usually, public Bitcoin miners have 10,000 times more mining capacity than this solo miner who won.

Block (formerly Square) CEO Jack Dorsey has proposed the creation of a Bitcoin Legal Defense Fund that would help Bitcoin developers cope with rising litigation. Its services are to be set up in a way that would be free for developers to take advantage of if they choose to do so.

Top gainers for the week

  • Oasis Network (ROSE): 69% up
  • Secret (SCRT): 48% up
  • Near Protocol (NEAR): 42% up
  • Fantom (FTM): 28% up
  • FTX Token (FTT): 27% up

Top losers for the week

  • Loopring (LRC): -13% down
  • Internet Computer (ICP): 8% down
  • Chainlink (LINK): 6% down
  • Quant (QNT): 5% down
  • AMP (AMP): 4% down

(Note: Data as of 12.15 PM IST, January 16, 2021; Source: Coinmarketcap.com)