CFTC Investigates Binance; the NFT Craze; Bitcoin Passes $61,000 & More

Hey ?? Blockchain & Cryptocurrency enthusiasts! Trust you had a wonderful week. This is the best Weekly Blockchain & Crypto Digest thus far. Enjoy!

P.S. Before we dive into what happened in Blockchain & Crypto last week, check out my Connecting the Dots Newsletter, where you will get much more. Every Week????

Last week (8-14 March) was literally crazy in Blockchain & Cryptocurrency space… ?? Binance, the biggest crypto exchange in the world, is being investigated by the CFTC ??; A digital piece of art aka the NFT sells for close to $70 million ??; Bitcoin hits another all-time high, passing over $61,000 mark ??, and other super interesting news and developments.

Without further ado, let us dive into what has happened in the financial technology sector this week. Let’s connect the dots.

Binance Is Being Investigated by the CFTC

Crypto exchange Binance is reportedly being investigated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over concerns surrounding whether it allowed U.S. investors on the platform.

According to a Bloomberg report on Friday, which cited anonymous sources, the CFTC is seeking to determine whether Binance has allowed residents in the U.S to buy and sell crypto derivatives products while not being registered under the government agency's oversight.

The report noted that the exchange "hasn't been accused of wrongdoing."

THE TAKEAWAY

Regulators are stepping in. The recent move is a clear sign that regulators are trying to funnel U.S. investors into regulated channels (which isn’t a bad move). It must be reminded that derivatives trading in the U.S. is strictly overseen by the CFTC. Can we say that crypto markets are maturing? ??

Beeple NFT Sells For $69.3M, Becoming Most-Expensive Ever

A piece of digital art sold for $69.3M at Christie’s Thursday morning, a record amount of money paid for a new but booming category of art called nonfungible tokens or NFTs.

Digital art was sold as an NFT - the latest tech craze which has boomed in popularity in recent weeks.

Beeple - real name Mike Winkelmann - creates a new piece of digital art every day, and was selling the first 5,000 days (13 years) of his work.

That success puts Beeple "among the top three most valuable living artists", Christie's said.

The company said the sale was the first NFT-based work of art sold by a "major" auction house and set a new world record for digital art.

THE TAKEAWAY

Art is going digital at full speed. NFT market is going like crazy, with more and more users joining every day. The key question here - how sustainable is it? ??

Bitcoin Price Surpasses $61,000 For the First Time

The world's largest cryptocurrency is up over 100% so far in 2021.

After a period of drops and consolidation since mid-February, Bitcoin has found its way up to new all-time highs.

The top cryptocurrency by market cap crossed $60,000 for the first time on Sunday and hours later crossed $61,000 to set a new all-time high of $61,556.59, according to various sources. At the point of writing, BTC is changing hands at over $59,000 per coin.

The new high comes two days after President Joe Biden signed a massive $1.9 trillion stimulus program into law that is sending checks for $1,400 to U.S. citizens.

THE TAKEAWAY

Momentum is still there. Continuous institution interest and stimulus checks are some of the drivers that probably have caused another ATH. How far can we go? ??

Extra Reads & Quick Bites for Curious Minds??:

• Chinese corporate bitcoin purchases. Publicly-listed Chinese beauty apps maker Meitu buys $40M in BTC, ETH. Meitu is also one of the first Chinese publicly listed companies that have joined the ranks of Square, Tesla, and MicroStrategy in holding bitcoin as part of its treasury management strategy.

??Money Moves??

• Zaki Manian's new DeFi project raises $3.5M to help traders avoid big losses.
• Crypto venture capital giant Digital Currency Group (DCG) has announced its plan to invest up to $250M in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).

Quote of the Week/??Food for Thought??

That looks about right… ????

Graph of the Week

The NFT market has been growing fast, with weekly users on NFT platforms soaring from around 20,000 at the beginning of the year to nearly 200,000 this week, according to The Block. 

Week in Brief

Crypto exchange Binance is reportedly being investigated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over concerns surrounding whether it allowed U.S. investors on the platform.

A piece of digital art sold for $69.3M at Christie’s Thursday morning, a record amount of money paid for a new but booming category of art called nonfungible tokens or NFTs.

Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency is up over 100% so far in 2021.

Digital lender BlockFi has confirmed it has closed a new round, raising $350M at a $3B valuation.

Continue reading by subscribing to Connecting the Dots Newsletter. You will receive fresh news about Blockchain & Cryptocurrency with hot takeaways every week.

P.S. You might enjoy my earlier pieces as well:

?? Making Sense of Tesla's $1.5B Bitcoin Buy

?? Robinhood: Robbing the Poor to Give to the Rich? A Story about the Fragility of the Brand

?? Cutting Through the Noise: Bitcoin Fundamentals & Why it Was Created

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About: I am a business developer, sales professional, FinTech strategist, as well as Cryptocurrency and Blockchain enthusiast. I'm highly passionate about Financial Technology and Digital Innovation, and strongly believe that it will change the world for the better. Apart from my daily job at a global payments startup where I'm leading the company's expansion into Europe, I'm an active member of the FinTech community and a TechFin evangelist.

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