▶ Coinbase Website: Coinbase.com
▶ CEX Website: cex.io
The news that Elon Musk’s Tesla car company will accept bitcoin as payment boosted cryptocurrency markets by $100 billion in just a few hours.
In summary
* Crypto markets surge as a result of Tesla’s acceptance of Bitcoin. Within hours, the global market cap increased by $100 billion. With a series of raises and new sponsorship deals, cryptocurrency projects continue their march into the mainstream.
When Elon speaks about Bitcoin, the market pays attention. It was no different in the early hours of European business hours, when Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company would accept Bitcoin as payment for one of its vehicles.
While that would be enough to send the markets higher – see the Elon effect – the CEO also stated that the company will keep the money it receives in cryptocurrency as cryptocurrency. Then everything went crazy. The global market capitalisation had been hovering around $1.6 trillion before suddenly surging into the $1.7 trillion range.
Bitcoin’s price rose within minutes of the announcement. It had been trading sideways at around $54,000 overnight, but began climbing aggressively and is now comfortably in the $56,000 range, with potential for further gains into the $57,000.
The news sent shockwaves through the markets, with Ethereum rising 1.3 percent and Binance rising 1.24 percent. According to the price charts, almost all major cryptocurrencies benefited from the Elon Musk effect.
The only projects that did not receive Musk’s warm embrace were Ripple, whose price has cooled from earlier gains this week, and Uniswap, as well as its Eth-powered markets.
Meanwhile, Theta Token maintains its blistering hot streak, adding another 26% to its price. The streaming service has been riding a wave of popularity since Sony announced it would be a node on the network, and it is now being pushed forwards by the promise of a staking token later this year.
Cryptocurrency has been making significant money moves outside of the financial markets. Blockchain.com, a London-based firm that offers a variety of cryptocurrency services to retail and institutional clients, raised $300 million this morning, giving the company a $5.2 billion valuation. This is the third-largest raise in the relatively short history of cryptocurrency, trailing only Bitmain ($400 million) and BlockFi ($350 million).
Meanwhile, in the United States, crypto exchange FTX announced a 19-year sponsorship agreement with the Miami Heat arena, making it the first crypto sponsorship of a major professional sports venue in the United States.
It’s no surprise that young investors are buying cryptocurrency for the thrill of it. According to the FCA, the UK’s financial watchdog.
“The research discovered that for many investors, emotions and feelings such as enjoying the thrill of investing, as well as social factors such as the status that comes from a sense of ownership in the companies they invest in, were key reasons behind their decisions to invest,” the FCA said in a blog post announcing its findings.
▶ Coinbase Website: Coinbase.com
▶ CEX Website: cex.io
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