OpenSea on Track for Record Month as NFT Sales Boom

Non-fungible token marketplace OpenSea is headed for its highest volume month ever, indicating NFTs may be one sector of the cryptocurrency economy that has decoupled from bitcoin’s price drop. For the first half of January, OpenSea has generated nearly $2.7 billion in volume, which is on track to surpass the $3.4 billion high it notched in August, according to data from Dune Analytics. On Jan. 9, OpenSea recorded its largest single-day volume of $261 million dollars, according to Dune Analytics. For each day so far in January, OpenSea has broken…

OCC Chief Hsu Says Regulation Could Boost Stablecoin Innovation

Regulating stablecoin issuers like banks could encourage innovation in the crypto industry, according to top U.S. banking regulator Michael Hsu. Speaking at an event on Thursday, Hsu – the acting comptroller of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) – told attendees that increased regulations for the stablecoin industry could also make innovations longer-lasting. “While innovation thrives in uncertain environments, solid foundations can help,” Hsu said. “Especially when it comes to money and trust.” As the stablecoin market continues to grow, surpassing $150 billion last year, lawmakers and…

All-Time Best-Selling Rapper Just Dropped US$462,000 On a Bored Ape NFT

In early 2022, Eminem, the 49-year old rapper, spent close to $462,000 to purchase a non-fungible token (NFT) of Bored Ape Yacht Club. He also bought the NFT that resembles him for 123.45 Ethereum, changing his Twitter avatar to a photograph of his “NFT self.” Put simply, an NFT is a form of digital art stored in a Blockchain, a digital ledger. In case the craze hasn’t been evident, other celebrities like Snoop Dogg, Jimmy Fallon, Grimes, and Tom Brady have also jumped on board. It’s been known that NFT…

ERC-4626: DeFi's Newest Money Lego

ERC-4626 is a newly proposed Ethereum token standard that might resolve a sore issue in decentralized finance (DeFi): the mishmash of design types for tokens that print money. Proposed Jan. 4, ERC-4626 co-creator Joey Santoro said Wednesday the token’s documentation is ready for “final review.” He called on the “giga chad brains” of Crypto Twitter to offer feedback on this novel Ethereum Improvement Proposal. This article is excerpted from The Node, CoinDesk’s daily roundup of the most pivotal stories in blockchain and crypto news. You can subscribe to get the…

Bitcoin Revisits $44k As Exchange Outflows See Uptick

Bitcoin has enjoyed some uptrend over the past day as the crypto once again visits the $44k price level. On-chain data suggests that an uptick in exchange outflows may be behind the move. Bitcoin Exchange Outflows Observe A Spike In The Past Couple Of Days As pointed out by an analyst in a CryptoQuant post, the BTC exchange outflows have showed raised values recently. The “all exchanges outflow” is an indicator that measures the total amount of Bitcoin exiting wallets of all exchanges. When the value of the metric goes…

The Urgent Need for Regulatory Clarity on Stablecoins

Asset-backed stablecoins are digital currencies that are issued against traditional fiat currencies held on a 1:1 peg. In theory, one U.S.-dollar-backed stablecoin should be equal to one U.S. dollar. However, as we’ve seen in the case of tether, this is not always the case. In fact, many popular stablecoins are backed by a similar combination of cash and commercial paper, which is unsecured, short-term debt issued by companies to meet their financial obligations. Source

US Inflation Rate Jumps Highest in 40 Years to 7%, Democrats Concerned Inflation Will Haunt the Party – Economics Bitcoin News

One of the hottest topics in the United States in 2022 is the rising inflation, as the U.S. Labor Department’s data published on Wednesday indicated that the consumer price index (CPI) rose to 7% in December. This represents the largest annual jump since 1982. Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard is set to tell congressional leaders today that the central bank is focused on battling inflation. Moreover, members of the Democratic party are concerned that the rising inflation may cost the Biden administration politically. CPI Rate Jumps to 7%, Wholesale Prices…

Regulation, Web 3, Billing: Predictions for 2022

“By the end of the year, all of the notable RIAs in this space are going to be in. I don’t necessarily mean allocating, but just doing something whether it’s education, webinars, tax planning, estate planning.” In this episode of “On Purpose,” host Tyrone Ross dives into his predictions for crypto and the wealth management industry in 2022. Perhaps this will be the year for regulation in areas like stablecoins, investor protections and securities designations. How would this change the role of the…