An overview of current news in the crypto space
In our digest, we took a look at some important crypto industry news over the past week:
- Bitcoin surpassed $42,000 but didn’t hold up
- Tax revenues from bitcoin mining in Russia could reach 50 billion rubles annually after 2025
- Google will allow advertising of digital assets from 2024
- NFT’s “Genesis Cat” sold for $254k at Sotheby’s auction
And now for more details. Reading time: 6 minutes.
Bitcoin exceeded $42,000, but failed to hold on to it
Bitcoin continues its active recovery, exceeding the $42,000 mark on the night of January 27, although it failed to hold this level. Currently, the cryptocurrency’s exchange rate is hovering around $41,700, its total capitalization is $818 billion, and the total volume of the cryptocurrency market reaches $1.68 trillion. All cryptocurrencies from the top 10 showed growth, especially Avalanche and Solana stood out, showing gains of 5.2% and 4.6%, respectively. Not all experts are confident in the stable future of bitcoin. For example, ex-CEO of BitMEX Arthur Hayes predicts that the cryptocurrency will fall below $35,000. However, CoinShares analysts believe the opposite and predict growth to $58,700, based on the approval of the spot bitcoin-ETF and the expected easing of monetary policy in the United States. According to observers’ comments, BTC has successfully rolled over $40k in support and is currently looking to consolidate above $42k. Ahead of us is February, which is historically considered a positive month for bitcoin, and given the upcoming halving and active acquisition of BTC by the BlackRock fund, we can expect further strengthening of the cryptocurrency’s position.
Tax revenues from bitcoin mining in Russia may reach 50 billion rubles annually after 2025
According to estimates, with the introduction of meaningful regulation, tax revenues from bitcoin mining in the Russian Federation may reach 50 billion rubles annually after 2025. This follows from a statement by Sergey Bezdelov, director of the Industrial Mining Association. It is important to note that Russian miners use about 2.5 GW of electrical capacity, 1.7 GW of which comes from industrial cryptocurrency mining. As of today, the industrial mining industry is not regulated by law and is not included in OKVED. Let us recall that the bill regulating this industry has been registered in the State Duma since mid-November 2022. It provides for mandatory reporting to the tax service on extracted cryptocurrencies. Experts expect this bill to be passed in 2024. Thus, despite some obstacles, the prospects for tax revenues from bitcoin mining in Russia leave room for optimism.
Google to allow digital asset advertising from 2024 onwards
According to a recent announcement, Google, a leading multinational technology company, will begin allowing ads related to digital assets from January 29, 2024. Initially, the introduction of this policy will be limited to the U.S. territory, but the company plans to expand it depending on the regulatory requirements and rules for advertisers in each specific jurisdiction. Google expects the decision to significantly increase awareness of cryptocurrencies by allowing ads to be shown to over 90% of the world’s population via Google Ads. This could generate a positive response in the crypto market, including a potential influx of bitcoin-ETFs. Importantly, Google has already taken steps in this direction by allowing developers to add digital assets, including NFTs, to their apps and games on the Play Store. This was another example of Google actively getting involved in the growth and development of the digital asset space.
NFT’s “Genesis Cat” sold for $254k at Sotheby’s auction
A digital image of a cat known as Genesis Cat has been sold for the astronomical sum of $254k at Sotheby’s auction. This unique piece of art was created by artist Francisco Alarcón (FAR) and produced by the Taproot Wizards team. Genesis Cat is part of the Quantum Cats collection, which consists of 3,333 unique digital cats and was created in honor of the OP_CAT bitcoin protocol improvement proposal. Originally estimated at $15k to $20k, the image far exceeded expectations, exceeding its initial value by more than 12 times. The auction, which ran from January 12 to January 22, included 19 digital lots from various artists, and total sales amounted to about $1.1 million.
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