Bitcoin Suisse
The Weekly Wrap - 10 September 2021
Sep 10, 2021 - 4 min read
1. Bitcoin becomes legal tender in El Salvador
The Facts:
- On Tuesday, El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender.
- Salvadoran citizens received $30 in BTC upon registering in the official Chivo wallet.
- In preparation for the law coming into effect, El Salvador has installed 200 Bitcoin ATMs.
Why it’s important:
- As roughly 70% of El Salvador’s citizens are unbanked, Bitcoin could play an important role in democratizing access to digital banking.
- This move could set precedence for other nations to evaluate the possibility of adopting Bitcoin.
2. Bitmain sends mining hardware to Georgia
The Facts:
- Bitmain, one of the largest mining hardware manufacturers, has entered a Bitcoin mining hosting deal with Bit5ive and ISW Holdings.
- The agreement will bring 56’000 mining rigs to Georgia, with the deployment to be completed in October 2022.
- The rigs represent a hash rate of about 5.6 exahashes per second (EH/s) according to estimates, which would currently amount to about 4.3% of the entire network.
Why it’s important:
- In reaction to China’s crackdown on Bitcoin mining, many mining companies are moving their infrastructure to other jurisdictions.
- The Bitcoin network’s hash rate is rising again after the decrease throughout May and June, indicating more mining hardware going online again.
3. Coinbase responds to SEC notice
The Facts:
- Coinbase published a blog post reacting to the SEC’s intentions to sue the exchange over their planned yield-generating product Coinbase Lend.
- On Twitter, CEO Brian Armstrong shared his views on the actions by the SEC.
- With the launch of the product planned in a few weeks, Coinbase will have to postpone this offering.
Why it’s important:
- In an unusual move, Coinbase publicly criticizes the lack of communication and clear guidance from the regulator.
- The SEC’s stance on Coinbase Lend could also have an impact on other US providers’ offerings related to yield-generating products.
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4. FTX launches NFT marketplace
The Facts:
- FTX has launched an NFT marketplace that enables users to mint and trade NFTs.
- Founder Sam Bankman-Fried announced that the NFTs will support both Ethereum and Solana.
- Currently, the NFTs may only be traded on FTX, with support for deposits and withdrawals arriving in a few weeks.
Why it’s important:
- FTX is the third major cryptocurrency exchange to launch an NFT platform, following the lead of Binance and OKEx.
- This step increases consumer choice by offering more options for cross-chain transactions.
Number of the week
amount of bitcoin purchased by the government of El Salvador
5. Daily ETH issuance negative for the first time
The Facts:
- On September 3, the daily net emission of new ETH was negative for the first time.
- Since the change to Ethereum’s monetary policy in the beginning of August, over 200’000 ETH have been burned.
- This negative daily issuance is connected to higher gas fees, partially caused by the NFT hype.
Why it’s important:
- The new burning mechanism, which has a direct impact on the available supply of ETH, is based on block space demand.
- With Ethereum’s planned migration to proof-of-stake, ETH issuance is expected to decrease further, possibly causing ETH supply to become deflationary.
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