{"id":7697,"date":"2021-05-01T14:18:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-01T18:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/?p=7697"},"modified":"2021-05-01T14:18:15","modified_gmt":"2021-05-01T18:18:15","slug":"bitcoin-grim-close-tesla-selloff-eth-surges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/05\/01\/bitcoin-grim-close-tesla-selloff-eth-surges","title":{"rendered":"Bitcoin\u2019s grim close, Tesla\u2019s crypto sell-offs, Ether\u2019s jaw-dropping surge: Hodler\u2019s Digest, April 25\u2013May 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coming every Saturday, <\/i><\/b>Hodler\u2019s Digest<\/i><\/b><\/a> will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more \u2014 a week on Cointelegraph in one link.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Top Stories This Week<\/b><\/h2>\n

<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

Bitcoin bulls attack $57,000, and altcoins rally as April comes to a close<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

A sudden bullish surge took traders by surprise as April drew to a close, with Bitcoin staging a <\/span>10% <\/b>rally in a matter of hours.<\/span><\/p>\n

Highs of $58,448.34 helped to erase recent losses \u2014 but not entirely.<\/b><\/p>\n

Data from Bybt shows that BTC\u2019s price fell by <\/span>1.98% <\/b>last month. <\/span>That\u2019s the first time the world\u2019s biggest cryptocurrency has closed the month of April in the red since 2015.<\/b><\/p>\n

A contributing factor to upbeat market activity may have been linked to an astounding surge in revenues at MicroStrategy, a company that owns <\/span>91,000 BTC<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor said:<\/span> \u201cWe will continue to acquire and hold additional Bitcoin as we seek to create additional value for shareholders.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ethereum\u2019s market cap exceeds platinum\u2019s for the very first time<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

While Bitcoin had lost its footing for most of the week, Ether has gone from strength to strength.<\/span><\/p>\n

The No. 2 cryptocurrency continues to break new all-time highs \u2014 with the latest record of $2,879.75 set on Saturday.<\/b><\/p>\n

Overall, 2021 promises to be a crucial year for the Ethereum blockchain as the long-awaited Eth2 upgrade takes shape. <\/span>The network is set to part ways with its proof-of-work consensus algorithm and shift to proof-of-stake, which is set to cut costs and preserve energy.<\/b><\/p>\n

At <\/span>$330 billion<\/b>, Ether\u2019s market cap has now exceeded industry giants including Procter & Gamble and PayPal \u2014 not to mention platinum. <\/span>The digital asset is also a stone\u2019s throw away from overtaking The Walt Disney Company and Bank of America.<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tesla books huge profit from Bitcoin sale in Q1\u00a0<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

Tesla sold a portion of its Bitcoin holdings in the first quarter, pocketing a profit of <\/span>$101 million <\/b>as a result.<\/span><\/p>\n

The electric vehicle manufacturer announced that it had snapped up Bitcoin worth $1.5 billion in February, and this sale amounts to about 10% of its crypto stash.<\/b><\/p>\n

Crypto Twitter didn\u2019t react kindly to the news, with comedian Dave Portnoy accusing Elon Musk of profiting from a pump-and-dump engineered by his public statements supporting BTC.<\/span><\/p>\n

Musk rejected these claims and said that he hasn\u2019t sold any of <\/b>his <\/i><\/b>Bitcoin. <\/b>He also explained that Tesla executed this transaction \u201cessentially to prove liquidity of Bitcoin as an alternative to holding cash on balance sheet.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Musk <\/span>has continued to champion Dogecoin<\/span><\/a> on his Twitter feed \u2014 ahead of him hosting <\/span>Saturday Night Live <\/span><\/i>on May 8.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Coinbase offers customers a w<\/b><\/a>ay to purchase crypto using PayPal<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

There were a series of milestones this week when it comes to simplifying the process of buying crypto\u2026 and using it as a payment method.<\/p>\n

Coinbase announced that users in the U.S. will now be able to buy digital assets using debit cards and bank accounts linked to their PayPal profiles \u2014 giving them a greater choice of digital assets than PayPal alone provides.<\/b><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, rival exchange Gemini announced that it is teaming up with Mastercard to release a credit card that will allow crypto holders to spend digital assets and <\/span>receive cash-back rewards in the form of Bitcoin<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Elsewhere, Binance announced that it was launching its own NFT marketplace in June \u2014 complete with a \u201cPremium Event\u201d category that is designed to attract big-name signings.<\/span><\/p>\n

And, <\/b>if you\u2019re feeling hungry<\/b><\/a>, Bubba Gump Shrimp\u2019s seafood restaurants are going to start accepting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the next 90 days.<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Giving Block launches \u201cCrypto Giving Pledge\u201d to ramp up donation efforts<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

A leading crypto donations platform has launched a new initiative that\u2019s designed to help the digital assets sector become the most charitable in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Giving Block has launched a \u201cCrypto Giving Pledge\u201d that encourages investors to pledge at least 1% of their holdings to charities each year and asks businesses in this space to contribute 1% of their revenue toward similar causes.<\/b><\/p>\n

Users can join the initiative anonymously and without having to disclose their contributions. <\/span>If everyone in crypto donated 1% of their holdings to charities, they could collectively raise $20 billion.<\/b><\/p>\n

As well as raising money for \u201camazing causes in critical need of support,\u201d the organization\u2019s co-founder also says that this could erase crypto tax burdens for donors \u2014 and \u201cput to bed this idea that crypto is bad.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Winners and Losers<\/b><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At the end of the week, Bitcoin is at <\/span>$57,380.31<\/b>, Ether at <\/span>$2,880.41 <\/b>and XRP at <\/span>$1.56<\/b>. The total market cap is at <\/span>$2,212,553,216,270<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are <\/span>Fantom<\/b>, <\/span>Polygon <\/b>and <\/span>OKB<\/b>. The only altcoin loser is <\/span>Celo<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

For more info on crypto prices, make sure to read <\/span>Cointelegraph\u2019s market analysis<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Most Memorable Quotations<\/b><\/h2>\n

<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the current lawsuit, Ripple will go public. The current CEO wants to do that. Chris wants to do that.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yoshitaka Kitao<\/b><\/a>, SBI Group CEO<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cFacebook has purchased 0 bitcoin for an aggregate price of $0 in a strategic corporate move to have fun staying poor.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Texan Hodl<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you sold #Bitcoin because Facebook didn\u2019t buy any in Q1 and you also think you\u2019re GMI, I have some unfortunate news for you.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Travis Kling<\/b><\/a>, Ikigai CEO<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHMRC suspects that an increasing amount of hidden wealth is slipping through its fingers thanks to the rise of cryptocurrencies.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

David Jones<\/b><\/a>, UHY Hacker Young director<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWith blockchain analytics, the thing we say over and over is that all this activity is on this ledger forever, and if you did something bad 10 years ago you can be caught and arrested for it today.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sarah Meiklejohn<\/b><\/a>, computer scientist<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cRather than investing in cryptocurrency stuff, I want to focus on the extreme life extension technologies because if you die, you can\u2019t enjoy your life anymore.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Roger Ver<\/b><\/a>, Bitcoin.com founder<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThis recent recovery in Altcoin Market Cap is much sharper than the post-retrace recovery in February.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Rekt Capital<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Prediction of the Week<\/b><\/h2>\n

<\/h4>\n

Ether will always come second to Bitcoin, says <\/b>Shark Tank\u2019s<\/i><\/b> Kevin O\u2019Leary<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

Despite ETH strengthening further against BTC this week, <\/span>Shark Tank <\/span><\/i>star Kevin O\u2019Leary still believes that Bitcoin will remain top of the crypto rankings.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking to CNBC, he declared: \u201cBitcoin will always be the gold, Ethereum will always be the silver.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

The <\/span>Shark Tank<\/span><\/i> star said he had owned crypto since 2017, announcing last month that he would be allocating 3% of his portfolio into Bitcoin.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, he has previously referred to digital assets as \u201ccrypto crap\u201d and Bitcoin as \u201cnot a real currency.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FUD of the Week\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

DeFi hacks and exploits total $285 million since 2019, Messari reports<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

Decentralized finance\u2019s rising popularity since 2019 has seen the emerging market segment become a target for hackers and opportunistic profiteers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Crypto research company Messari says DeFi protocols have lost more than $284 million to hacks and other exploit attacks since 2019.<\/b><\/p>\n

Almost half of the DeFi hacks covered in the Messari report were flash loan attacks, while others took advantage of temporary defects in price oracle feeds.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

County in New Jersey makes 250% profit from crypto seized in 2018<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

Prosecutors in the U.S. have sold off crypto they confiscated in 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n

The digital assets, seized during a drug bust, were initially valued at $57,000. <\/b>Three years on, and they\u2019ve generated a profit of <\/span>$141,000<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said that the county is the first state-level agency to complete the forfeiture and liquidation of cryptocurrency assets.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis will serve as an effective template for the state law enforcement agencies in the cryptocurrency market \u2014 a place where we can expect proceeds from crimes to continue to be concealed,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Binance could face heavy fines over stock tokens, warns German regulator<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

Binance\u2019s attempts to bridge traditional markets with the cryptocurrency space through fractionalized stock tokens have drawn the attention of Germany\u2019s financial regulator.<\/span><\/p>\n

BaFin has warned that the world\u2019s largest crypto exchange could face heavy fines for launching security-tracking tokens without an accompanying investor prospectus.<\/b><\/p>\n

Binance launched fractionalized stock tokens for Apple, MicroStrategy and Microsoft on Monday, adding to tokens for Coinbase and Tesla.<\/span><\/p>\n

The exchange told Cointelegraph: <\/span>\u201cBinance takes its compliance obligations very seriously and is committed to following local regulator requirements wherever we operate. We will work with regulators to address any questions they may have.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Best Cointelegraph Features<\/b><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h4>\n

<\/h4>\n

Roger Ver\u2019s next life: Cryonics meets crypto<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

With a fortune he vaguely refers to as being in the billions, the Bitcoin Cash proponent intends to switch his investment focus to cryonics over the next decade in the hopes of improving the experimental technology.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n

100 fascinating facts about crypto\u2019s last 100 days<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

A $100 investment into DOGE 100 days ago would now be worth $2,742, while the same investment into BTC would be worth $130 today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n

Biden\u2019s capital gains tax plan to pull crypto down to earth from the moon?<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

More taxes may cause short-term volatility, \u201cbut long term, you may see more demand for DeFi applications and other collateralized use cases.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more \u2014 one week on Cointelegraph in one link!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":7701,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[35,2413],"tags":[2883,2722,2731,2727,2795,2796,2736,2733,2802],"yst_prominent_words":[231,225,222,221,456,701,1260,1497,2236],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7697"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7697"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7704,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7697\/revisions\/7704"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7697"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=7697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}