After a meteoric rise throughout the month of March, bitcoin appears to have settled just below its record price high for 2022 of $48,000.
The world’s most valuable cryptocurrency is enjoying a rare moment of stability at the start of the week, shifting by less than 1 per cent on Monday and Tyesday.
Other leading cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB) and Ripple (XRP), have all mirrored bitcoin’s movements, with only Cardano (ADA) seeing any gains over the weekend.
The crypto market calm could be about to come to an end, according to some analysts, who anticipate major announcements at Bitcoin 2022 this week.
Dubbed as the largest bitcoin conference in history, the Miami event is the same one that El Salvador President Nayib Bukele announced last year that his country would be adopting BTC as a legal form of tender.
You can follow all the latest news and updates in our live blog below.
MicroStrategy buys another $190 million of bitcoin
13:54 , Anthony Cuthbertson
MicroStrategy, the world’s largest corporate holder of bitcoin, has just announced another major investment in the cryptocurrency.
CEO Michael Saylor revealed on Twitter that the software firm acquired another 4,167 bitcoins at an average price of $45,714, bringing the total to 129,218BTC.
At an average price of $30,700 per bitcoin, MicroStrategy is currently up more than $2 billion on its total investment at today’s market prices.
UK hopes to be global crypto hub
09:33 , Anthony Cuthbertson
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has announced a series of measures to boost innovation and adoption of cryptocurrencies, including bringing stablecoins officially into the payments system.
The UK government will also be woriing with the Royal Mint on a non-fungible token (NFT) as an “emblem of the forward-looking approach the UK is determined to take.
Here’s what Sunak said in a statement:
It’s my ambition to make the UK a global hub for cryptoasset technology, and the measures we’ve outlined today will help to ensure firms can invest, innovate and scale up in this country.
We want to see the businesses of tomorrow – and the jobs they create – here in the UK, and by regulating effectively we can give them the confidence they need to think and invest long-term.
This is part of our plan to ensure the UK financial services industry is always at the forefront of technology and innovation.
Rishi Sunak
Bitcoin 2022 will be ‘largest bitcoin conference ever’
Monday 4 April 2022 17:28 , Anthony Cuthbertson
There’s less than two days to go until Bitcoin 2022, which organisers claim will be the largest bitcoin conference in history.
Over 300 speakers will appear across four days at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Florida, including US Senators, tech giants and world leaders.
Some analysts are predicting big announcements, which could cause major waves across the crypto market. Last year, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele kickstarted a record-breaking price rally after announcing that his country would adopt BTC as a legal form of tender. President Bukele will be there again this year.
Crypto donations to Ukraine pass $70 million
Monday 4 April 2022 17:23 , Anthony Cuthbertson
Cryptocurrency donations to assist Ukraine’s military and humanitarian efforts following Russia’s invasion have topped $70 million.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation has been tracking donations since Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov called for funds to “contribute to the Ukrainian victory as well as support civil people”.
Donations are being accepted in bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT), Terra (LUNA), Solana (SOL), Polkadot (DOT), Cardano (ADA), dogecoin (DOGE) and others, allowing people to contribute directly to Ukraine’s efforts.
Official crypto addresses to donate to can be found here.
Here’s a breakdown of the donations made so far:
Hello and welcome…
Monday 4 April 2022 10:27 , Anthony Cuthbertson
to The Independent’s live coverage of the crypto market.
We’ll be bringing you all the latest news and analysis for bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and other leading cryptocurrencies, plus expert predictions.
