Everything You Need to Know About the Crypto Selloff
On the blockchain, there is never a moment that lacks excitement. This week, this is what you absolutely must be aware of:
The price of bitcoin reached a new low for 2022. Meanwhile, a problematic "algorithmic stablecoin" heightened market participants' worries of a selloff. We'll give you a rundown of everything.
The number of states in the United States that recognize cryptocurrency is growing. Several states, including Virginia, Oklahoma, and Texas, are making progress toward web3 compliance.
A look back at the week in numbers The amount of websites that are capable of rapidly enabling DOGE payments, in addition to other important statistics to know this week
STABLE STAKES
The crypto world is captivated by a faltering "algorithmic stablecoin," which has caused the markets to fall to their lowest levels since 2022.
Since the beginning of the year, the financial world has been rocked by unprecedented levels of inflation, a tangled global supply chain, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and rising interest rates, the most recent of which was implemented this week by the Federal Reserve in the form of their most aggressive rate increase in twenty years. As a direct result of this, the values of cryptocurrencies and stocks reached new lows for 2022. But for cryptocurrencies in particular, this week presented a peculiar new turn of events: the troubles of a dollar-pegged stablecoin named TerraUSD (UST). TerraUSD (UST) had only just become the third-largest stablecoin by market valuation, and it had 18 billion dollars worth of circulation. In recent days, the value of UST has dropped below one dollar, reaching a low of 62 cents on Monday night. This has caused many people to question whether or not it will continue to exist. Hold on tight because we are going to dissect this (very difficult) story.
Why it is significant. Even though the future of the Terra environment is still a mystery — the price of UST lingered at 90 cents for most of Tuesday before falling back to 70 cents — the ecosystem's troubles serve as a useful reminder that there is no such thing as yield without risk. In a frothy bull market, it may seem as if there is no other direction to go except up, and in a falling market, it may be tempting to give up all of your holdings out of fear. Because of this, we felt the need to compile a manual for handling situations such as these, which includes helpful tactics such as dollar-cost averaging. Just take a few slow, deep breaths and give it a read if you're feeling a little (or a lot!) on the edge of your seat:
STATE OF AFFAIRS
Across the United States, state governments are taking steps toward adopting crypto.
A number of states and towns (look out, Miami!) are making their own web3 moves, from mining in Fort Worth, Texas to produce farming in Virginia, with various presidential orders, laws, and crypto industry studies. This is occurring while cryptocurrency regulation is still a sluggish and patchwork effort among multiple acronymed federal agencies and Congress. Who is taking the initiative here? Let's have a peek.
Why it is significant. The adoption of cryptocurrencies is driven by various institutional actors beyond just banks and investment managers. It is becoming more likely that state and municipal governments will embrace crypto-related commercial possibilities, including those in mining, blockchain technology, and even DeFi. And there are even others who are trying their hand at it themselves. In addition to the percentage of its pension funds that have previously been invested in cryptocurrencies, Fairfax County in Virginia is investigating the DeFi "degen" technique that is also known as yield farming. "We regard this as a growth investment," says Katherine Molnar, the chief investment officer of the Fairfax County Police Officers Retirement System.
NUMBERS TO KNOW 455 million
Total number of websites that WordPress powers; owing to a recently developed plugin known as Easy Dogecoin Gateway, all of these websites now have the potential to allow payment processing using Dogecoin.
$265,500
Amount (90.5 ETH) that Bored Ape parent firm Yuga Labs refunded NFT bidders after they paid high network fees for unsuccessful transactions during a frenetic bidding battle for virtual real estate in an upcoming metaverse game called Otherside.
244
There was a record number of venture capital investment transactions for cryptocurrency firms in April. The monthly total of $4 billion was comprised of an increase of $400 million contributed by USDC issuer Circle and an increase of $150 million contributed by Sky Mavis, the company that is behind Axie Infinity.
TUNE IN
How Vietnam turned to become a center for crypto gaming on a worldwide scale
The innovative play-to-earn crypto game, Axie Infinity, was created by a corporation with its headquarters in Vietnam, despite the fact that it is located in its own unique part of the metaverse. Why is the nation such a hotspot for the adoption of cryptocurrencies and gaming on blockchains? Ancient8 is Vietnam's biggest blockchain gaming guild, and in the most recent edition of Around the Block, presenter Justin Mart chats with its creator, Howard Xu, about the future of "GameFi" and why Vietnam is particularly prepared to lead the next phase of crypto gaming.
