Crypto Flipsider News – Crypto Market Plunges Hard, Twitter Launches NFT Profile Pic Feature, Meta Explores NFT for FB & IG, A16Z to Raise $4.5B for New Fund, NYC Mayor Takes Paycheck in Crypto

Read in the Digest;

Macroeconomic Factors Lead to Another Major Crypto Market Plunge

Twitter Integrates NFT Into Profile Pictures, Meta Exploring NFTs for Facebook and Instagram

A16Z Plans to Raise $4.5B for New Crypto Funds, “Crypto Is Hard to Ignore,” says CEO of Charles Schwab

New York City Mayor Receives His First Paycheck in Crypto

Macroeconomic Factors Lead to Another Major Crypto Market Plunge

Bitcoin and the wider cryptocurrency market have plunged hard again as macroeconomic factors kick in. With Bitcoin and Ethereum falling by 8% and trading at $38.5k and $2,800, respectively, over $300 billion was wiped off the global crypto market cap.

Bitcoin and Ethereum were not the only losers, as most cryptocurrencies entered a free-fall. From a high of $3 trillion on November 9, 2021, the global crypto market cap has fallen to a 90-day low of $1.827 trillion.

The 24-hour chart of the global crypto market. Source: Tradingview

As a result of the market crash, 185,450 crypto investors have reportedly lost all their funds.

The plunge of cryptocurrencies comes amidst continued surging inflation and reports of losses from Wall Street. In addition, Nasdaq reports a 5% drop this week, and the S&P 500 heads into its third straight week of losses.

Amidst the ongoing market crash, the Federal Reserve of the United States released a new whitepaper for the digital dollar. With many believing that a CBDC would replace traditional cryptocurrencies, the market reaction stretched even further.

Flipsider:

Analysts have predicted that an eventual breakout is imminent after Bitcoin’s drop to $38k.

Why You Should Care

The crypto market plunge coincides with the decline of tech stocks, a result of the Fed’s plans to taper asset purchases and raise interest rates several times this year.

Twitter Integrates NFTs into Profile Pictures, Meta Exploring NFTs for Facebook and Instagram

As JPEGs, NFTs can be used as profile pictures by random people, almost defeating the unique ownership feature of digital art. The micro-blogging platform Twitter has introduced an official verification feature for NFT profile pictures to solve this problem.

By linking your Ethereum wallet to Twitter, you can access all the NFTs you own. Verified NFTs used as a profile picture will show up as a hexagon instead of a circle (users can click to get more information). Unverified NFTs will display as circles, not hexagons.

Continuing the NFT trend, Meta is reportedly exploring plans to integrate digital art into Facebook and Instagram. Reports show that Meta’s work could see users able to create, showcase, and sell NFTs on Facebook and Instagram.

According to the report, the immediate release could see users display NFTs while Meta works on a future release to allow users to mint new NFTs. If NFTs are integrated into Facebook and Instagram, it could be the biggest show of mainstream support for NFTs to date.

Flipsider:

In a recent wave of criticism, NFTs have been accused of destroying physical art assets, including a rare copy of Dune.

Why You Should Care

Non-fungible tokens have grown from being called a bubble to transforming the narrative of digital art as it pushes for global adoption.

A16Z Plans to Raise $4.5B for New Crypto Funds, Crypto Is Hard to Ignore, Says CEO of Charles Schwab

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a venture capital firm with significant crypto investment, has announced plans to raise $4.5 billion for new crypto funds. According to its report, A16Z would raise $3.5 billion for its venture fund.

The additional $1 billion would be used as seed investments in the web3 space. The plans are set to be confirmed in March. The funds would surpass Paradigm’s $2.5 billion to become the largest crypto fund by a venture capital firm.

As more financial service providers jump into the crypto space, Walt Bettinger, the CEO of another mega venture capital firm, Charles Schwab, has stated that cryptocurrencies are “hard to ignore.” He adds that cryptocurrencies have become “fairly significant.”

Explaining that Charles Schwab could fill a “tremendous void” in the crypto space, Bettinger notes that the firm would enter the industry “if the opportunity presents itself from a regulatory standpoint.”

Flipsider:

The SEC has rejected Skybridge’s spot Bitcoin ETF, further delaying direct exposure to cryptocurrencies.

Why You Should Care

As the crypto industry matures, experts have opined that the entrance of venture capital firms would help push crypto to global adoption.

New York City Mayor Receives His First Paycheck in Crypto

In November 2021, the newly elected Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, made headlines for announcing that he would apply for his first three salary payments in Bitcoin.

Fulfilling his promise, Mayor Adams is set to receive his first paycheck in Bitcoin and Ethereum. Despite the market drop, Mayor Adams would receive his crypto payments on Friday following a conversion on the Coinbase exchange.

Reaffirming his drive to make New York a crypto center, Mayor Adams explained that “being on the forefront of such innovation will help us create jobs, improve our economy, and continue to be a magnet for talent from all over the globe.”