Luc Smits van Oyen
Weekly crypto news: Dogecoin pumps after Elon Musk buys Twitter
We are once again approaching the end of the week (April 23, 2022 through April 28), and that means another weekly crypto news overview! This week was once again full of interesting news for the crypto market.
For example, we saw Dogecoin (DOGE) rebound, after it was announced that Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion - more on that later. In the "hardest risers" category we also found ApeCoin (APE), which rose 35% over the past 7 days following rumors of the possible sale of virtual land. And at number 2 came STEPN (GMT) with an increase of 25%, after it was also among the hardest risers last week.
However, we begin the news overview with some great news for Bitcoin:
Despite large gold and diamond reserves, the Central African Republic is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world and has been plagued by rebel violence for years.
El Salvador was the first country to introduce Bitcoin as a legal tender last year. Since then, there have been a number of rumors of other countries where this would also happen, such as Honduras and Malaysia, but those rumors turned out to be false in the end.
Bitcoin was already widely used in Africa, as local currencies are often not very reliable, yet the Central African Republic's decision is a first in Africa. Many governments have been heavily against cryptocurrencies so far, but this sentiment is expected to change in the future now that Bitcoin has officially made its appearance in Africa.
Many influential people with controversial opinions, such as Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene, were banned from the platform. Elon Musk does not agree with this kind of censorship, and so the richest man in the world just bought up the entire platform.
Immediately after the announcement of the purchase, rumors circulated that Twitter would start accepting DOGE as a means of payment for Twitter Blue, a subscription for exclusive features. Along with the fact that Elon Musk is a big DOGE proponent, this turned the sentiment around memecoin around for many.
Dogecoin immediately rose nearly 36% after the news from €0.115 to €0.156. A correction followed in the following days and DOGE's price is now at €0.133.
A decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) called Tron DAO will manage the stablecoin. According to Sun, Tron DAO will manage a reserve with an interest rate of 30%. Tron DAO will also provide custodial reserves of up to $10 billion in highly liquid assets to serve as collateral for USDD.
This stablecoin is a big step for the TRON blockchain because stablecoins serve as the foundation for the economic ecosystem on a blockchain. Just about every major blockchain has a stablecoin, and TRON now does too.
TRON (TRX) shot up 20% immediately after the news, but the coin has since fallen back to its former level.
The family-controlled asset manager said MicroStrategy Inc (MSTR.O), a major Bitcoin supporter, will be the first employer to use the new product, which will be made available to other employers by mid-year.
Dave Gray, head of workplace retirement offerings and platforms at Fidelity, said the plan will initially be limited to Bitcoin, but expects other cryptocurrencies to be made available in the future, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news.
This is great news for Bitcoin, as it will allow US workers to invest in Bitcoin very easily. Also, this will contribute to the confidence that people have in Bitcoin.
So all in all, it was a very positive week for Bitcoin, although the price remained about the same. It was also a good week for the adoption of the Metaverse. Earlier this week we wrote about Nissan and Toyota finding their place in the virtual world. Read the article "Nissan and Toyota take first steps in the Metaverse" here.
For example, we saw Dogecoin (DOGE) rebound, after it was announced that Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion - more on that later. In the "hardest risers" category we also found ApeCoin (APE), which rose 35% over the past 7 days following rumors of the possible sale of virtual land. And at number 2 came STEPN (GMT) with an increase of 25%, after it was also among the hardest risers last week.
However, we begin the news overview with some great news for Bitcoin:
The Central African Republic makes Bitcoin legal tender
The Central African Republic has adopted Bitcoin as its official currency, the presidency announced Wednesday. This makes it the first country in Africa and only the second in the world to do so.Despite large gold and diamond reserves, the Central African Republic is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world and has been plagued by rebel violence for years.
El Salvador was the first country to introduce Bitcoin as a legal tender last year. Since then, there have been a number of rumors of other countries where this would also happen, such as Honduras and Malaysia, but those rumors turned out to be false in the end.
Bitcoin was already widely used in Africa, as local currencies are often not very reliable, yet the Central African Republic's decision is a first in Africa. Many governments have been heavily against cryptocurrencies so far, but this sentiment is expected to change in the future now that Bitcoin has officially made its appearance in Africa.
Elon Musk buys Twitter, Dogecoin rises as a result
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and self-proclaimed Dogecoin CEO, bought Twitter this week for $44 billion. In doing so, he aims to bring "freedom of speech" back to the social media platform.Many influential people with controversial opinions, such as Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene, were banned from the platform. Elon Musk does not agree with this kind of censorship, and so the richest man in the world just bought up the entire platform.
Immediately after the announcement of the purchase, rumors circulated that Twitter would start accepting DOGE as a means of payment for Twitter Blue, a subscription for exclusive features. Along with the fact that Elon Musk is a big DOGE proponent, this turned the sentiment around memecoin around for many.
Dogecoin immediately rose nearly 36% after the news from €0.115 to €0.156. A correction followed in the following days and DOGE's price is now at €0.133.
TRON announces new stablecoin: USDD
TRON founder Justin Sun has announced plans to launch a decentralized algorithmic stablecoin called USDD on the TRON blockchain network. Like the well-known stablecoins USDT, UST, USDC and BUSD, USDD will be linked to the dollar.A decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) called Tron DAO will manage the stablecoin. According to Sun, Tron DAO will manage a reserve with an interest rate of 30%. Tron DAO will also provide custodial reserves of up to $10 billion in highly liquid assets to serve as collateral for USDD.
This stablecoin is a big step for the TRON blockchain because stablecoins serve as the foundation for the economic ecosystem on a blockchain. Just about every major blockchain has a stablecoin, and TRON now does too.
TRON (TRX) shot up 20% immediately after the news, but the coin has since fallen back to its former level.
Fidelity Investments makes Bitcoin available for 401(k) retirement savings plan
Fidelity Investments said Tuesday that it will allow individuals to allocate a portion of their retirement savings in bitcoin through their 401(k) investment plans, becoming the first major retirement plan provider to do so.The family-controlled asset manager said MicroStrategy Inc (MSTR.O), a major Bitcoin supporter, will be the first employer to use the new product, which will be made available to other employers by mid-year.
Dave Gray, head of workplace retirement offerings and platforms at Fidelity, said the plan will initially be limited to Bitcoin, but expects other cryptocurrencies to be made available in the future, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news.
This is great news for Bitcoin, as it will allow US workers to invest in Bitcoin very easily. Also, this will contribute to the confidence that people have in Bitcoin.
So all in all, it was a very positive week for Bitcoin, although the price remained about the same. It was also a good week for the adoption of the Metaverse. Earlier this week we wrote about Nissan and Toyota finding their place in the virtual world. Read the article "Nissan and Toyota take first steps in the Metaverse" here.