No doubt, 2021 has been a momentous year for crypto assets. The bitcoin price dropped to lows of $47,500 last night before recovering slightly and is now flat on the last 24 hours.
Meanwhile, Ethereum is off by just over 3%. Ethereum rival solana has also fallen, recording a 4% decline after mysterious congestion on its super-fast blockchain spooked investors.
Solana had a worrying, multi-day outage earlier this year.
24-hour crypto market snapshot
Bitcoin (+0.5%) $49,192
Ethereum (-3%) $4,189
Solana (-4%) $181.05
XRP (-7%) $0.8552
But according to former Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey, who’s gone full bitcoin after leaving the social media company he co-founded, it’s a trap! Referring to the bitcoin price falling back after climbing earlier this week—known as a bear trap.
Dorsey’s payments company Square is today completing its rebrand to Block, reflecting Dorsey’s ambition to build a blockchain-based tech conglomerate in the image of Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta.
Elsewhere, after representative Brad Sherman joked about a hypothetical mongoose coin replacing dogecoin and ethereum at this week’s crypto hearing, several mongoose-based cryptocurrencies have surged, mostly on decentralized exchanges.
Today, look out for the latest U.S. monthly consumer price index figures as the Federal Reserve continues to gauge whether to accelerate its planned tapering. U.S. inflation is expected to have increased 0.7%, down from a 0.9% rise in October, according to economists polled by Refinitiv.
Binance eyes Indonesia opportunity
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, has faced a regulatory backlash due to its rapid growth NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
Growth mindset: Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform that wrestling with regulators around the world thanks to its decentralized corporate structure and rapid growth, is reportedly discussing “crypto ventures” with some of Indonesia’s biggest companies, it was this morning reported by Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Why it matters: Binance is in a state of flux after crackdowns across Europe and Asia over the summer. Founder and chief executive Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has said he’d step down in order to help the exchange make peace with lawmakers but in the meantime, CZ is working to establish regional bases to better comply with local rules. Its U.S. division, ostensibly a separately run entity, is reportedly under investigation by U.S. regulators.
Keeping it in the family: The exchange, formerly headquartered in Malta before beginning to operate without an official HQ, is in talks over a possible venture with PT Bank Central Asia (BCA), controlled by billionaire brothers Budi and Michael Hartono, Indonesia’s richest family, and state-owned PT Telkom Indonesia, the country’s largest telecom operator.
Lips sealed: Binance has a policy “of not commenting on rumors or speculation,” a Binance spokesperson told Coindesk when asked to confirm the Bloomberg report. “We are supportive of the sustainable growth of the blockchain industry globally and we are constantly looking at business opportunities in every country,” the spokesperson added.
The bottom line: Indonesia is a rapidly growing economy with a large unbanked and financially underserved population. A government-backed deal would give Binance a port in a storm and a huge new market to tap.