In the world of cryptocurrency, this past week has been filled with ups and downs. From Bitcoin’s surge during Chinese New Year to Solana’s network outage, and even the unexpected rise of a new crypto mining hub, there has been no shortage of news in the industry.
Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, saw a 10% gain over the week, thanks to the momentum of Chinese New Year. This surge is in line with a historical trend, as Bitcoin’s price typically sees an average increase of 11% around the time of the Chinese New Year. The price bump helped Bitcoin break through resistance levels that had been holding since the introduction of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US a month ago.
On the other hand, Solana experienced a severe outage that lasted for 5 hours, causing a 4% dip in its price. This outage was a rare occurrence for the network, which had been running smoothly for nearly a year. The Solana Foundation has yet to release a formal statement on the cause of the outage.
In other news, Monero, a privacy-focused altcoin, hit multi-month lows after being delisted from Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges. This move by Binance also affected other tokens such as Aragon, Multichain, and Vai, which will all be delisted by February 20th.
Meanwhile, the recently launched US spot Bitcoin ETFs have surpassed MicroStrategy in terms of total holdings, adding 5,000 BTC worth $1 billion to their stack. This rapid growth in investments shows the increasing popularity of Bitcoin ETFs among investors.
Additionally, Robinhood has integrated with MetaMask, allowing users to easily access cryptocurrencies through the popular trading platform. This integration enables MetaMask users to load their wallets directly with crypto and make in-app purchases using Robinhood’s order engine.
In legal news, Australian computer scientist Craig Wright denied allegations that he forged documents to support his claim of being the inventor of Bitcoin, known as Satoshi Nakamoto. Wright is facing legal opposition from the Crypto Open Patent Alliance, which aims to protect the open-source nature of the Bitcoin protocol.
Lastly, Chinese Bitcoin miners have found a new hub in Ethiopia, attracted by affordable electricity and friendly relations with China. Despite Ethiopia’s ban on crypto trading, the country allows crypto mining, leading to the emergence of Bitcoin mining farms near electricity substations linked to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Overall, it has been an eventful week in the world of cryptocurrency, with developments ranging from price surges to network outages and legal battles. Stay tuned for more updates in the coming weeks.
