Eth2.0 Phase 0 Launched, ‘Bad’ VS. ‘Good’ Crypto Lawmakers, Calling All the Bulls on the Market
In this edition:
- Ethereum 2.0 Phase 0 Successfully Launched
- The US Congress Goes Hard on Stablecoins
- Ukraine to Pass a Major Crypto Bill
- BTC, ETH, XRP – The Current Bullish Landscape
It’s finally December, my fellow Anchorians! And while it’s a season of holidays, joy, and laughter, the situation with COVID-19 is still very serious in a lot of countries, so let me start this Roundup with a wish for everyone to be safe and careful, we’ll get through this. *BTW, a Christmas miracle would truly come in handy, just saying.*
It’s been a busy week when it comes to cryptocurrencies – Eth2.0 updates, legislative ups and downs, and a thrilling situation on the market for all traders. Exactly what we needed!
While we all struggle with these uncertain times, take care, stay safe, read a book, watch a movie, make hot cocoa, trade crypto, eat chocolate cake – whatever helps in your case. Right now, let’s break down the latest news and dive into the 69th edition of Weekly Crypto Roundup together!
Ethereum 2.0 Phase 0 Successfully Launched
A remarkable event for the crypto community has finally occurred – Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Chain has been successfully launched with over 27,000 validators! In this manner, the migration from PoW to PoS has officially started, and 524,288 ETH had been deposited in the staking contract. What does it mean for the rest of the world?
‘’The global economy needs an objectively trustworthy frame of reference to coordinate logic and transactions between business networks. Ethereum is the leading candidate, already functioning as the global settlement layer for ~$1 trillion in digital assets on the decentralized web,’’ said Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin.
Phase 0 is the first step in building the next iteration of the protocol, and Vitalik Buterin helped us understand better what comes next by sharing his Eth2.0 roadmap.
The first phase already dubbed Phase 0 only enables staking. With Phase 1 comes sharding of data, increase in storage capabilities without directly influencing application performance. And the final phase, Phase 2, will enable those long-awaited thousands of transactions per second.
The Ethereum community is excited to mark the beginning of a new era, and every crypto enthusiast in the world is anxiously awaiting any development regarding Eth2.0. While still a ‘work in progress’, the PoS-based Ethereum could have a significant impact on the global deployment of blockchain and the economic landscape.
The US Congress Goes Hard on Stablecoins
A new bill, The Stable Act, was introduced in the US Congress on Wednesday regarding the status of stablecoins. You guessed it, not very good news.
The idea is to make stablecoins ‘illegal’ if they lack federal approval. This would ultimately mean total control over the stablecoin industry in the US since every related activity would need to have federal approval to gain legal status.
“It shall be unlawful for any person to issue a stablecoin or stablecoin-related product, to provide any stablecoin-related service, or otherwise engage in any stablecoin-related commercial activity, including activity involving stablecoins issued by other persons, without obtaining written approval in advance, and on an ongoing basis, from the appropriate Federal banking agency, the Corporation, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.”
While there is a long way ahead of this bill to become a law, the crypto community is concerned this would be a dangerous precedent with vast consequences since, essentially, the entire industry would be in the hands of the federal government.
This concept annuls the very idea of a free market by introducing a practically non-democratic level of centralization. Additionally, it creates more potential problems than solutions – a system like this one is vulnerable to lobbying, conflict of interests, or even illicit activities.
Wyoming House Representative Tyler Lindholm put it nicely: “Centralization of power for a decentralized world. No thanks. This industry has been light years more successful in bringing financial freedom to the unbanked and that happened without cronyism as suggested in this bill.”
Cronyism or not, it’s kind of daft to regulate an entire industry in such a strict manner without even being any type of expert. Well, the Sun rises in the east, and congresspeople support bills, it’s a circle of life. We hope this will remain only a weak attempt to put a stop to the stablecoin industry.
Ukraine to Pass a Major Crypto Bill
On the other side of the globe, lawmakers and cryptocurrencies are making love, not war. Ukraine, a country that has recently been marked as the global leader in crypto adoption by Chainalysis, is making a legislative effort to enhance the deployment of cryptocurrencies.
A bill called ‘Draft Bill on Virtual Assets’ has had its successful first hearing (229/340 yays) in the Ukrainian Parliament, pending two more until it becomes a law. Many countries are talking about regulating crypto, some do their own research, some show a clear lack of understanding for the industry, but Ukraine seems to be on the right track.
The general idea is to put the regulation of virtual assets under Ukraine’s Ministry of the Digital Transformation – every company ‘must provide information on ownership structure and beneficiaries’ along with the proof they ‘don’t facilitate money laundering and are diligently protecting users’ personal data’, which are very understandable criteria. Other than that, the market is free and ready to blossom.
Ukraine wants to ease the pain for its crypto users since some platforms don’t operate in countries where regulation is unclear. In this way, Kyiv is inviting crypto businesses to ‘open shop’ in their backyard.
This is very good news for crypto enthusiasts from this Eastern European country, we can only hope other countries will join in this endeavor to make cryptocurrencies accessible and available to everyone instead of vilifying them.
BTC, ETH, XRP – The Current Bullish Landscape
Okay, this December surely reminds us of that December when BTC reached an all-time high, but still hasn’t managed to overcome the notorious $20k line. Experts, nonetheless, remain optimistic when it comes to the further surge of BTC price, but what’s going on with other cryptocurrencies in the meantime?
Let’s start with ETH and XRP, second and third cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. On November 20th, the ETH price went over $500, four days later over $600 then dropped again. At the moment of writing, the price is $612 (CMC). Since the price was around $385 at the beginning of November, the growth % is indeed significant and we can only wait and see how Ethereum 2.0 developments will influence the price in the future.
XRP is also riding the ‘green wave’. From $0.28 to $0.71 in just three days – the XRP price did well in the recent state of affairs. At the moment of writing, one XRP equals $0.62 (CMC again).
Bitcoin, of course, manages to stay in the range of $18.5k to $19.5k, still only flirting with the unbreakable $20k resistance line. Precisely $19,316 at the moment of writing.
The overall bullish trend is omnipresent due to the increased demand. Every crypto enthusiast is ready for a crazy rollercoaster month when it comes to the price jumps. Everything indicates that the growth trend will continue for now, but in this industry, always expect the unexpected!
Final Thoughts
Well, if you chose reading this edition of Weekly Crypto Roundup instead of watching another Christmas movie – you are our hero and we salute you.
Everything must end, including this article, but you know where to find us! Proof of Stake Ethereum, legislative hurdles & achievements, and the buzzing market landscape have marked the week behind us. Let’s hope for even more interesting events for the jubilee 70th edition. Until then, I wish you fair winds and the following seas, my fellow Anchorians! Take care.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this post is not legal, accounting, or financial advice. I am not a lawyer, accountant, or financial advisor. I am not registered as an investment adviser with any federal or state regulatory agency. The Information should not be construed as investment or trading advice and is not meant to be a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any cryptocurrencies.
