Central, Northern and Western Europe has grown into the world’s largest cryptocurrency economy since July 2020. The region experienced a massive increase in trading activity since then, particularly in the DeFi space. Data from Chainanalysis shows that Europe received over $1 trillion in cryptocurrency over the last year alone. This represents 25% of global trading activity. Large institutional transaction value grew from $1.4B in July 2020 to $46.3B in June 2021, coming to take up half of all European trading activity.
Elon Musk appeared at the Code Conference that took place yesterday. Musk weighed in on China’s most recent ban to date suggesting that the Communist Party of China is hostile toward cryptocurrencies because they pose a threat to the centralized government. Following this, Musk added that there’s “a long-term goal” for cryptocurrencies, adding that it’s impossible to “destroy” cryptocurrencies. However, he also believes that governments are likely to slow down the industry’s advancements.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is considering creating its own utility token to capitalize on the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies. The plan to launch TAT coin will have to navigate through Thailand’s complex legal framework and regulations before coming to life. TAT is in discussions with the Stock Exchange of Thailand regarding its ambitions and how the transfer of value can be achieved without introducing the speculative aspects of trading. The coin would involve the transfer of vouchers into digital tokens that could help operators gain greater liquidity.”
Bitcoin extended its decline below the $42000 and $41200 support levels. The price is now trading below $42500 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. There is a major bearish trend line forming with resistance near $42100 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. The pair could start a decent increase as long as it is above the $40750 support zone.
Ethereum retested the $2750-$2780 support zone. After being down sharply on Tuesday, as cryptocurrencies sold off along with other risk assets, including stocks, the ETH price is recovering, and it must clear $3000 to start a steady increase in the near term.
Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake continues, with the first mainnet upgrade of Beacon Chain scheduled for late October. The networks long-planned upgrade to a scalable, proof-of-stake consensus model grows closer as developers set a date for the Altair upgrade. Altair, which is described as the first mainnet upgrade to the Beacon Chain, is scheduled to take place around October 27th.