Bitcoin surged to its highest value in 20 months as rumors of the Fed lowering borrowing rates spread, marking a 17% gain in just one week. The surge in Bitcoin’s value coincided with a record high in gold prices and increased investor enthusiasm for stocks and other risk-on assets. Additionally, Cardano’s ADA price saw a significant surge as it entered the top 10 in Total Value Locked, indicating growing interest in the DeFi ecosystem.
Elon Musk found himself in hot water after misquoting Jack Dorsey’s new Bitcoin wallet, Bitkey, during its introduction. Musk’s misquote, “Not your keys, not your wallet,” was quickly corrected by the crypto community to “not your keys, not your coins,” emphasizing the importance of self-custody in managing funds.
Coinbase Wallet introduced a new feature that allows users to send money through social media platforms like WhatsApp, iMessage, and Telegram, as well as Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. This new feature simplifies transactions among friends and family, making it easier and faster to send funds globally for free.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele celebrated the country’s Bitcoin investment, which has now turned a profit of over $3.6 million. Bukele also announced a ‘Freedom Visa’ program that offers Salvadoran citizenship in exchange for a $1 million equivalent investment in Bitcoin or Tether, aiming to boost economic prospects in the country.
Robinhood expanded its crypto trading services to EU customers, offering trading in over 25 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, free of commissions. The move comes as the US continues to scrutinize the crypto sector, while Europe’s robust regulations provide a more favorable environment for crypto trading.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon once again criticized the rising crypto market, advocating for “shutting it down” during a US Congressional hearing. Despite his negative stance on crypto, JPMorgan continues to support crypto ventures, highlighting the ongoing debate within the traditional financial sector regarding the future of digital assets.
Swiss city Lugano now allows Bitcoin and USDT for tax and service payments in collaboration with Tether, reflecting a growing trend among Swiss municipalities to embrace crypto payments alongside traditional methods. This move aims to revamp the financial infrastructure using Bitcoin technology and streamline bill payments for residents and businesses.
A Bitcoin Core developer revealed a bug fix that could eliminate Bitcoin Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens causing network congestion. The fix proposed by Luke Dashjr aims to cease the operation of these tokens while preserving existing inscriptions on the Bitcoin blockchain. The implementation of this patch could impact the over 46 million inscriptions currently on the network.
