Crypto Week at a Glance: Bitcoin Consolidates Above $16K After Turbulent Week
This has reduced the selling pressure on the crypto-asset, which appears to have stabilized above $16,000 this week. The total crypto market is now worth $830 billion, down from a peak of $3 trillion last year. The crypto market has not rallied despite strong US CPI inflation data beating estimates.
Meanwhile, activity on DeFi platforms such as Uniswap has increased as CEXs aim to regain consumer confidence by providing proof of reserves and other assurances.
Bitcoin and the broader crypto markets are likely to be capped this month, although brief rallies are possible. Macroeconomic conditions globally, including a possible announcement of a recession in the US, continue to be a cause for concern in the medium term.
As this bear market plays out, we look at some positives in adoption and other stories in the week below.
Nike launches first Web3 project
Footwear giant Nike is entering the Web3 world with the launch of Dot swoosh (.SWOOSH), a new platform aimed at building a community around its digital wearables. Dot swoosh will serve as a platform for trading and purchasing digital items such as virtual sneakers and jerseys, as well as a resource for Web3 education.
Dot swoosh is currently in beta and will open for registration by the end of November, ahead of the first collection in 2023.
First airport metaverse takes flight in India
The first metaverse airport based on Po
lygon blockchain, Metaport, has been launched at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, India. In a digital replica of Terminal 2 at the Bengaluru International Airport, Metaport users can communicate with other travelers, access entertainment and make online purchases.
The Metaport arrives months after Polygon was roped in to bring Web3 to the aerospace industry.
Binance Establishes Industry Recovery Fund
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is setting up a fund to help potentially strong projects experiencing liquidity challenges as the fallout from the FTX crisis continues to negatively impact markets.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said the fund aims to reduce the pervasive negative effects of the collapse of FTX by helping projects that are strong but in a liquidity crisis. Zhao also clarified that the project is for other potentially strong projects and not those like FTX, stating that “liars or frauds” would never qualify.
Crypto payments with USDC are now available on Apple Pay
Circle, the company behind the US dollar-pegged stablecoin USD Coin USDC, has added support for Apple Pay to more closely integrate cryptocurrencies and conventional payment methods.
Circle said Apple enabled crypto payments that will use stablecoin on its payment platform. The addition of Apple Pay support will benefit traditional businesses by allowing them to move more retail payments to digital currency.
The move is expected to help build the future of commerce by increasing business sales and making payments faster, easier and more secure.
Cristiano Ronaldo launches first NFT collection
Soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo has launched his first NFT collection as part of an exclusive, multi-year partnership with Binance. The collection will feature seven animated statues with four rarity levels: Super Rare (SSR), Super Rare (SR), Rare (R) and Normal (N).
Each NFT statue depicts Ronaldo in an iconic moment from his life, from his career-defining bicycle kick to his childhood in Portugal. Binance said that future sets of the Cristiano Ronaldo NFT collection will be available in early 2023.
Top 5 Winners for the Week (as of 11:30 AM IST, 20 November 2022)
Trust Wallet Token (TWT): Up 21%
Arweave (AR): Up 16%
Unus Sed Leo (LEO): Up 13%
GMX (GMX): Up 12%
Toncoin (TON): Up 12%
Top 5 Losers of the Week (as of 11:30 AM IST, 20 November 2022)
Casper (CSPR): Down 18%
NEAR Protocol (NEAR): 15% off
Curve DAO Token (CRV): Down 13%
Decentraland (MANA): 11% down
EthereumPoW (ETHW): Down 11%
Note: The analysis includes only the top 100 cryptocurrencies. Source: Coinmarketcap
