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Brace brace brace 😬
Uptober, the name given to the month of October by bullish cryptocurrency traders, delivered. Bitcoin rallied almost 40% in October, hitting a fresh record high of around $67,000 thanks to the hype surrounding the launch of the first U.S. futures-based bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Bitcoin’s rally was the biggest single-month percentage rally since December 2020, according to Coindesk data.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency prices are climbing this morning after a highly successful October. But … [+]
While many other top ten cryptocurrencies didn’t perform as well as bitcoin, most still pulled in gains for the month. Ethereum registered a new all-time high, as did the dogecoin rival shiba inu—though traders are increasingly looking for the next viral cryptocurrency.
Today, most of the crypto top ten is in the green. Solana‘s sol token is leading the way with a 10% rally on this time yesterday.
Dogecoin has climbed by 5% after Tesla
Traders are expecting a bumpy week ahead, with the U.S. Federal Reserve widely expected to announce it’s going to begin easing its loose monetary policy. The big question for markets: Will we see a taper tantrum or is the belt-tightening already priced in? Coindesk has a write-up.
ICYMI: Big hires, big money and a D.C. blitz- A bold plan to dominate crypto
Crypto on the climate 🌡️
The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as Cop26, has begun in Glasgow, … [+]
Flop26: U.S. president Joe Biden is landing in Scotland today for the city of Glasgow’s global climate summit, where the stakes are high and expectations low. Over the next two days, world leaders and heads of state will discuss plans for keeping the 1.5 Celsius temperature increase target within reach after failing to make concrete commitments in Italy after Rome’s G20 summit.
The crypto connection: Today, a group of crypto companies has published a report seeking to dispel what they say are incorrect claims about crypto’s excessive energy usage. Reports claiming “bitcoin uses more electricity than many countries,” are common. Global Digital Finance, whose members include the derivatives-focused crypto exchange BitMEX, major U.S. crypto platform Coinbase, and international financial center Abu Dhabi Global Market.
What can be done? “It may be time for our industry to partner with established leaders in carbon accounting and reporting to develop a bespoke, standardized framework for assessing and disclosing the climate impacts of crypto mining, trading, and holdings,” Coinbase chief policy officer Faryar Shirzad wrote in the report.
Why it matters: Investors, both in digital markets and traditional ones, are increasingly concerned with responsible practices and are paying closer attention to a company or asset’s environmental, social and corporate governance credentials. Earlier this year, Tesla billionaire and one of the most high-profile proponents of bitcoin and cryptocurrency, suspended Tesla’s support of bitcoin payments due to environmental concerns. Last week, a story ran in Fortune with the headline: “There’s a rolling global disaster with Bitcoin that no one is talking about.” Another read: “Every single bitcoin transaction—even buying a latte—consumes over $100 in electricity.” Quartz reported: U.S. bitcoin miners doubled their power consumption in four months. The crypto-converted brush aside these concerns. But others won’t. As Bloomberg put it: “Bitcoin’s carbon footprint is an awkward reality for investors.”
The bottom line: Crypto has a climate problem and the industry wants to get ahead of it before it’s used against it.
Now read this: All those silly crypto ads are just the tip of the iceberg
A “wild” week ahead 🗓️
Keep an eye out for these crypto and crypto-adjacent events this week…
📢 The sold-out, third annual NFT week in New York City—styled as “The Leading Annual Non‑Fungible Token Event”—kicks off in Times Square today. You can check out the (long) speaker list and the 20-page agenda here and here.
🌍 World leaders are in Glasgow, Scotland for the Cop26 climate change conference. The two-week event will generate most of its headlines over the next couple of days before world leaders head home.
🏦 The Fed’s two-day meeting Tuesday and Wednesday is top of mind for markets this week, with the Fed widely expected to begin winding down the easy monetary policy it put in place at the beginning of the pandemic last year. “You’re going to have a wild week,” Wells Fargo’s
☀️ On Sunday, the first conference organized by the Solana Foundation, Breakpoint, will “bring together industry leaders, builders, and innovators from around the globe.”
Good to know: Two of the biggest bitcoin mining companies in the world are battling it out in a Texas town of 5,600 people
