Crypto Flipsider News – Avalanche Surpasses DOGE, Zcash Surges, Lydia Integrates crypto, Su Zhu Abandons ETH, El Salvador Plans Bitcoin City

Read in the Digest

Avalanche (AVAX) breaks into top 10, ZCash (ZEC) surges by 20%.
Ethereum layer two TVL reaches all-time high, Su Zhu leaves ETH because of high gas fees.
El Salvador plans to build a Bitcoin city and raise $1 Billion Bitcoin bond.
Cryptocurrencies could become a key part of Australia’s financial system.
Lydia adds crypto and shares to its app, Square publishes whitepaper for its DEX.

Avalanche (AVAX) Breaks into Top 10, ZCash (ZEC) Surges By 20%

While the crypto market continues to correct, Avalanche (AVAX) has stood out, setting a new all-time high in the process. The surging price of AVAX has seen Avalanche break into the top 10 cryptos ranked by market cap, displacing Dogecoin (DOGE) along the way.

Avalanche has gained more than 39% in the last 30 days. At the time of this writing, Avalanche (AVAX) is trading at $136.72, up from $98.4. Avalanche now ranks 10th with a market cap of $30.03 billion, overtaking Dogecoin, which has a market cap of $29.51 billion.

The seven day price chart for Avalanche (AVAX). Source: Tradingview

Privacy-focused crypto, ZCash (ZEC), has also caught the attention of investors, with a huge price surge on November 21st. On Sunday, ZCash gained more than 20% in value to reach a new 90-day high of $236.67.

Although ZCash has briefly corrected since the surge, ZEC is still in the green, showing gains of 9% over the last 24 hours, with the privacy-focused coin now trading at $210.18 as of this writing.

The five day price chart for ZCash (ZEC). Source: Tradingview

Flipsider:

The bears are still in firm control of the crypto market, with each of the top 10 cryptos, aside from Polkadot and Stablecoins, correcting by more than 2%.

Ethereum Layer Two TVL Reaches All-Time High, Su Zhu Leaves ETH Because of High Gas Fees

The TVL (total value locked) in Ethereum layer two (L2) networks has grown steadily over the last few months, more than doubling in the process. According to the data tracker, L2Beat, the TVL in Ethereum L2 has reached a new ATH of $6.13 billion.

The TVL in Ethereum L2 as of November 22nd. Source: L2Beat

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

Flipsider:

Su Zhu, the CEO of Three Arrows Capital, has criticized the Ethereum network.
The cryptocurrency billionaire announced that he has abandoned Ethereum because of the exorbitant fees and the unwillingness of its community leaders to fix the problem.

Why You Should Care

While there has been remarkable growth on the Ethereum network, the longstanding issue of gas fees has yet to be resolved, thereby hindering greater adoption.

El Salvador Plans to Build a Bitcoin City and Raise $1 Billion Bitcoin Bond

El Salvador, the Central American country famous for making Bitcoin a legal tender, has announced its intentions to build a cryptocurrency bitcoin-fueled city.

Nayib Bukele, the nation’s president, announced the plans to construct a “Bitcoin City” near the Conchagua volcano. The geothermal energy produced by the Volcano will be used to power both the city itself, and Bitcoin mining.

The city, which El Salvador will begin constructing in 2022, will have residential and commercial areas, services, entertainment districts, restaurants, and an airport. In a separate move, El Salvador will partner with Blockstream to raise $1 billion via a “Bitcoin Bond.”

President Nayib Bukele further announced that only value-added tax (VAT) will be collected in this Bitcoin city, half of which will be used to pay the municipal bonds, and the other half for municipal infrastructure and maintenance.

Flipsider:

While El Salvador has outlined its plans to build a Bitcoin city, Kyrgyzstan has shut down nearly 2,500 crypto mining facilities.

Why You Should Care

El Salvador is at the forefront of Bitcoin adoption, and its move to build a Bitcoin city could spark increased adoption from other countries.

Cryptocurrencies Could Become a Key Part of Australia’s Financial System

The place of cryptocurrency in the future of finance has been a widely discussed topic, with many suggesting that DeFi is the future. Joining the likes of El Salvador, Australia is one country that is keen on integrating crypto into its financial systems.

Australia’s Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and the Digital Economy, Jane Hume believes that cryptocurrency is not a fad, adding that governments need to embrace the technology, albeit cautiously. She went on to say;

"If the last 20 or 30 years have taught us anything, it's that all innovation begins as disruption and ends as a household name. Decentralized finance, underpinned by blockchain technology, will present incredible opportunities -- Australia mustn't be left behind by fear of the unknown."

Flipsider:

Head of payment policy at the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Tony Richards, shares different views, warning of the risk involved with investing in cryptocurrency.

Why You Should Care

Minister Hume explained that the growing prevalence of crypto investment among Australians means that the government must “embrace innovation” when it comes to decentralized finance.

Lydia Adds Crypto and Shares to its App, Square Publishes Whitepaper for its DEX

French peer-to-peer payment app, Lydia, has joined the growing trend of crypto adoption. Lydia has announced a partnership with Bitpanda that will allow the payment app to add trading to its super financial app before the end of 2021.

In addition to cryptocurrencies, Lydia users will be able to buy, hold and sell American and European shares, ETFs, and precious metals. The 5.5 million users will be able to access the feature later this year.

Square, another payment platform that has integrated crypto, has published the whitepaper of its upcoming Bitcoin-focused DEX. According to the official statement, the DEX, dubbed “tbDEX,” is set to merge the gap between fiat and bitcoin.

tbDEX will launch with a feature that allows individuals to easily convert their rapidly depreciating FIAT currencies into Bitcoin, without going through multiple platforms. Unlike most decentralized exchanges, tbDEX will launch without a governance token.