Crypto Flipsider News – FTX and Bitstamp to Add Stock Trading, Tesla Accepts DOGE, Block Builds Open Bitcoin Mining System, Rio de Janeiro to Hold 1% of Reserves in BTC, Tether Freezes $150 Million of Ethereum

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FTX and Bitstamp Move into Stock Trading, Gemini Pushes into Wealth Management

Dogecoin Rallies as Musk Announces that Tesla Will Accept Doge for Merch

Block Is Building Open Bitcoin Mining System, Bitcoin Cycle Is a Long Way from Complete, Rio de Janeiro to Hold 1% of Its Reserves in Bitcoin

Tether Freezes $150 Million USDT, ARK Invests in Circle-Linked Stablecoin

FTX and Bitstamp Move into Stock Trading, Gemini Pushes into Wealth Management

As crypto trading has slowed, crypto exchanges FTX US and Bitstamp USA have announced that they are working on offering stock trading. President of FTX US, Brett Harrison, explains that the company is “hard at work on stocks,” and users could get the feature in “a couple months.”

In addition to offering stock trading, the CEO of Bitstamp USA, Robert Zagotta, announced that the exchange is also considering entering stocks, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and crypto derivatives.

Gemini, another leading exchange, joins the diversification of its services with an entrance into wealth management. The cryptocurrency exchange has acquired BITRIA, a digital asset management platform.

Gemini and BITRIA first partnered in August 2020 to provide an “institutional-grade option.” BITRIA helps advisors manage holdings of bitcoin and other tokens. The move creates one of the industry’s first full-service digital asset custodians for advisors.

Flipsider:

Experts have predicted that Robinhood could feel the brunt of FTX and Bitstamp’s entrance into stock trading.

Why You Should Care

The expansion of crypto services continues, digital assets push closer to achieving mainstream adoption.

Dogecoin Rallies as Musk Announces that Tesla will Accept Doge for Merch

The liking the founder and CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, has taken for Dogecoin (DOGE) has become apparent. In addition to holding DOGE, the Time’s person of 2021 has given his reasons why Dogecoin excels above Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency.

The CEO of Tesla has now announced that customers can buy select merchandise items using Dogecoin (DOGE). This confirms the initiative he announced on December 14. Customers can buy the Cyberquad for Kids (12,020), the Giga Texas Belt Buckle (835 DOGE), and the Cyberwhistle (300 DOGE).

Since the announcement, the memecoin has gained more than 20%, setting an interday high of $0.1933. Over the last 24 hours, DOGE is up by 12% and now trades at $0.19281000. Dogecoin is the 12th largest crypto with a market cap of $25.6 billion.

The 24-hour price chart of Dogecoin (DOGE). Source: Tradingview

Flipsider:

49 days after accepting Bitcoin for car payments, Tesla stopped, citing concerns about the use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining

Why You Should Care

Consuming significantly less power than Bitcoin and being better for transactions, Musk has suggested these reasons make Dogecoin his favorite cryptocurrency.

Block Is Building an Open Bitcoin Mining System, Bitcoin Cycle Is a Long Way from Complete, Rio de Janeiro to Hold 1% of Its Reserves in Bitcoin

Just days after launching a Bitcoin Defense Fund, the founder and CEO of Block (formerly Square), Jack Dorsey, has announced that his company is building an open Bitcoin mining system. The project aims to make mining Bitcoin “more distributed and efficient.”

Despite over 90% of Bitcoin already mined, Fidelity Investments has reported that the Bitcoin cycle is far from over. Fidelity calls the Bitcoin hashrate recovery after the China ban “truly astounding,” with miners now in “massive” BTC accumulation mode.

Following the lead of Miami, Brazil’s second most populated city, Rio de Janeiro has revealed plans to hold 1% off city reserves in Bitcoin. In addition, the city administration has hinted at offering discounts for those who pay taxes with Bitcoin.

Flipsider:

El Salvador made headlines for its Bitcoin purchase and adoption as a legal tender. Four months down the line, President Bukele may have lost up to $10 million for El Salvadorans trading Bitcoin.

Why You Should Care

With Bitcoin’s growing popularity, Fidelity believes that proper regulation would lead to more adoption.

Tether Freezes $150 Million USDT, ARK Invests in Circle-Linked Stablecoin

On Thursday, Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin USDT, announced that it froze three addresses on the Ethereum blockchain holding $160 million of its assets.

A Tether representative disclosed that it blacklisted the addresses upon request from law enforcement investigating cyberattacks linked to the addresses. Helping law enforcement agencies, Tether has blocked 563 addresses since 2017.

Flipsider:

While Tether dominates the stablecoin market, many firms are beginning to take a liking to other stablecoins.
Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest has announced the purchase of $70.6 million worth of shares in SPAC, which is merging with Circle, the issuer of USDC, the second-largest stablecoin.