The price of Decentraland rose by more than 300% after the announcement of the change in the name of Facebook. The value of Shiba Inu increased by more than 80% and reached two all-time highs in one week.

Amid ups and downs in the market, most cryptocurrencies have shown a bearish trend in the last week. Meanwhile, the price of a few altcoins has risen by up to more than 160%.

The leading cryptocurrencies in the weekly top are Decentraland (MANA) and Shiba Inu (SHIB). While the former increased due to the announcement of the Facebook metaverse, the latter hit two new all-time highs.

They precede Gnosis (GNO), which is releasing a new decentralized exchange, and Dogecoin (DOGE), whose price rose thanks to a tweet from Elon Musk. IOTA (MIOTA), which launched the beta version of its smart contracts, closes the list of most appreciated cryptocurrencies.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has also shown highs and lows and suffered many corrections. The cryptocurrency is trading at around USD 61,185 and has lost 0.0% of its value in the last week. Its price reached a new all-time high above USD 67,276 on October 20^th.

Renowned analyst Willy Woo believes that people overrate the value of Bitcoin. He considers the increase in the demand for the cryptocurrency in the last two weeks has been insufficient to justify a price of around USD 65,000.

Change in the Name of Facebook Boosts Decentraland’s All-Time High

On October 28^th, the price of Mana, the token of Decentraland, reached a new all-time high above USD 1.4. In the following days, the value of the crypto asset tripled.

The change in the name of Facebook, which the company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced, could have caused the growth of MANA. Analysts believe that due to the evident growth of cryptocurrencies shortly after the release of the news.

The value of MANA rose by more than 340% during the week amid those advances. The increase was dramatic since October 28^th, and the price reached a new all-time high of USD 4.22 on October 30^th.

The market capitalization of MANA is above USD 4.2 billion, and the daily trading volume is around USD 7.6 billion.

Shiba Inu Reaches Three All-Time Highs in One Month

On October 27^th, the price of Shiba Inu reached an all-time high, exceeding USD 0.000089. It was the third time the meme cryptocurrency did it in a month.

The exponential growth of the cryptocurrency placed it among the ten crypto assets with the highest market capitalization. It even exceeded Dogecoin, the other meme cryptocurrency based on the image of a Shiba dog.

A group of fans conducted a campaign through Change.org, which could have caused the advancement of SHIB. They wanted the investment platform Robinhood to include Shiba Inu in its list of crypto assets.

After October 26^th, the price of SHIBn rose dramatically for two days but has kept growing steadily. However, there have been several corrections after it reached its third all-time high, with a bearish trend in the last hours.

The market capitalization of Shiba Inu is above USD 37.8 billion, and the daily trading volume is around USD 6.5 billion.

By Alexander Salazar

Although there are advances, there are still skeptical positions towards Bitcoin in the Bank of Spain. KPMG suggests setting a regulatory and control framework for the use and trade of cryptocurrencies.

A report from the audit services firm KPMG in Spain deals with the status of that country regarding the regulation of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The document says that the Spanish-speaking country is ahead of the rest of the European nations.

Amid the expansion of cryptocurrencies, KPMG states that the vision of the Bank of Spain has changed since 2018. By then, they argued that the level of adoption of those assets was low, their volatility was high, and they were associated with criminal activities.

Regulations on cryptocurrencies have advanced so much in Spain that banks and exchanges that operate with them must register with the Central Bank. That proves that Spanish regulators have gradually adapted to the changes due to the massive adoption of Bitcoin.

However, the firm considers that there are still skeptical positions towards incorporating crypto assets in the financial world at the Bank of Spain.

Cryptocurrencies Are Here to Stay

According to KPMG’s analysis, people should not consider cryptocurrencies as something temporary. For that reason, they argue that the growing adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies impacts the global financial sector. That has led them to consider setting a control and regulatory framework to guarantee adequate institutionalization.

Apart from the variations in the price of cryptocurrencies, the audit firm states that people’s interest in crypto assets has grown exponentially since 2021. Speculative expectations have caused much of that growth since the general public observes the emergence of a new class of assets.

Without even understanding it well, people begin to act in order not to miss a possible opportunity. However, the entry of institutional investors who understand its great potential has also contributed to that expansion.

Álvaro Casado, director of FS Consulting Strategy at KPMG in Spain, considers that cryptocurrencies are a new reality for the traditional financial system. He believes that the authorities should approach them by understanding its possibilities rather than by banning it.

The executive mentioned decentralized finance (DeFi), Play to Earn protocols, and non-fungible tokens (NFT). He said that they have limited use cases but the potential for development.

View of KPMG on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC)

The report from KPMG also deals with CBDCs and the possible issuance of the digital euro by the European Central Bank (ECB). Casado believes that issuing that centralized digital asset could allow governments to operate in this new market.

The ECB recently appointed the members of the Market Advisory Group, who will advise the Eurosystem on the design and distribution of that asset.

Amid advances regarding cryptocurrencies, Casado added that society is facing a new paradigm to understand money. That has led him to think that financial actors will have to make an effort to adapt to that situation.

By Willmen Blanco

In networks, users repudiate the Coinbase measure. These users even suggest stopping using that exchange. Large amounts of bitcoin left Coinbase for other unknown wallets.

There is a wave of criticism from users who, when trying to operate with bitcoin on the centralized exchange Coinbase, find a series of requirements and requests that are more reminiscent of a bank than a cryptocurrency exchange.

Via Twitter, Mira Christanto, a researcher at the market analysis firm Messari, questioned that due to the update of Coinbase’s ‘know your customer (KYC) policies, account statements are now requested banking from at least three months ago.

 It is also mandatory to explain when cryptocurrency trading began and how much profit has accrued thanks to those procedures.

The researcher also shared an image of several of the requirements demanded by Coinbase to start using the platform. The requests ranged from giving details about the current (and past) occupation and salary to highlighting if users have cryptocurrencies in other digital wallets.

In the Privacy section of the official website of the company, Coinbase admits that bank data is a requirement. Among this information, Coinbase highlighted the bank name, account type, routing number, the account number itself, and transaction history.

The company will request this data only to the extent necessary to comply with its legal or contractual obligations. In addition, they keep saying that they are subject to the US Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).

Besides, the company also talks about requesting essential data such as names, dates of birth, nationality, sex, utility bills, photographs, phone numbers, ID, passports, driver’s licenses. They also need other necessary data to comply with their legal obligations under financial or anti-money laundering laws.

They would even ask to inform about the transactions that take effect in the exchange’s services, such as the recipient’s name, the sender’s name, and the amount.

Although the company did not clarify that everything was part of the KYC requirements, a lot of the information displayed by Christanto got validated on the same Coinbase website.

Harsh Criticism in Networks

On Twitter, many users shared their discomfort with the new procedures and described it as exaggerated since these procedures can take up to at least three days while they got completed in a few minutes before.

One user explained that Coinbase, one of the publicly traded exchanges, caused retail to be influenced by the FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), which led to the creation of new accounts, and now, cannot trade with other people due to the KYC requirements.

Another user questioned the exchange by saying that either it is the most irresponsible KYC exchange on the planet, by not activating load balancing servers, or it is doing it deliberately on purpose, to prevent people from setting a liquidation in their profits.

Another went further and recommended moving away from Coinbase and other centralized exchanges, such as Binance and Kraken, as they will get hacked or they will hand over the data at any given time.

By: Jenson Nuñez

The Argentine peso (ARS) devalued 200% in two years, while the guaraní did not present problems. The devaluation in Argentina has generated the purchase of guaraní and more investments in cryptocurrencies.

Residents of northern Argentina are going to Paraguay to exchange Argentine pesos for guaranies in a parallel market where the currency gets called guaraní blue. This unprecedented initiative arises as a saving alternative to the devaluation of the Argentine peso and the difficulty of purchasing dollars legally.

According to the Ultima Hora agency, Argentines living in Posadas, the capital of Misiones, began to cross the border to purchase Paraguayan currency. This year, the Argentine peso got devalued by 31%, while the guaraní has not changed its value compared with the dollar.

The purchase of this currency happens in Encarnación, a city in Paraguay that is less than an hour from Posadas. The guaraní blue is worth ARS 35 and gets purchased in the informal market called blue. This new saving practice is in addition to alternative investments to the dollar growing in Argentina, such as the purchase of bitcoin.

Argentines are Looking for New Alternatives to Save in the Face of Devaluation

Argentina positioned itself as the second country with the highest devaluation in Latin America since last year, after Venezuela. In two years, the currency got devalued by 200%. In October 2021, the blue dollar almost surpassed ARS 200, while in the same month of 2019, it was worth ARS 66.

These factors mean that Argentines tend to protect their savings in dollars, although, currently, not everyone is authorized to acquire them in a bank. Those who receive government aid or income in the informal market which means around 50% of the population, are exempt.

To prevent the saved pesos from getting devalued, Argentines resorted to purchasing blue dollars in caves or digitally on P2P platforms. Although in any of these media, they find a slightly higher exchange rate (around ARS 198) than the official dollar offered by the bank (ARS 175).

Even investments in bitcoin in Argentina have increased to overcome all these difficulties that the nation is going through. The purchase of other cryptocurrency assets such as decentralized platform tokens (DeFi) has also increased.

According to the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV), that country experienced hyperinflation that reached 2,959.8% in 2020.

Statistics in the Caribbean nation are not revealed regularly by the authorities, so much so that the opposition National Assembly created an economic analysis office that calculated inflation at 3,713%.

The fact that the Venezuelan consulting firm Ecoanalítica detailed was that, amid hyperinflation and the greater use of foreign currency as a means of payment, “Venezuelans have observed a severe shortage of funds in local currency.

By: Jenson Nuñez

The former broker highlighted that he is an XRP whale as well as an NFT enthusiast. Belfort showed off his collectibles on Twitter and announced the launch of his own NFT pack.

Jordan Belfort, “the Wolf of Wall Street,” has been diving into the crypto world and has now declared himself an enthusiast for XRP, the Ripple token.

Known for his insidious stock market practices and scandalous lifestyle, Belfort has been taking to Twitter to share his fondness for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and his position in favor of some cryptocurrencies with his 630,000 followers.

In a tweet, the former broker revealed that he is a whale of XRP; And he’s not the only one. He says that the man who fixes his tv is also a supporter of Ripple’s currency. They both have enthusiastic price projections for XRP.

If Belfort’s prediction of $ 10 is correct, XRP could experience a 900% increase from its current price of around one US dollar. At the beginning of the year, Ripple’s cryptocurrency managed to overcome the price record of USD 1 for the first time since 2018. At that time, the bullish rally of the market brought its price very close to USD 2.

However, XRP is still a long way to go due to its all-time price high of $ 3.4 recorded three years ago. The commercial performance of the cryptocurrency got affected negatively last year, amid the controversial lawsuit applied by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which accused the company Ripple and its executives of the illicit sale of unregistered securities.

The former stockbroker is not the only one to come out to support XRP this week. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong also expressed his support for Ripple in the context of the legal battle with the SEC.

Armstrong stated that the regulator’s actions might harm consumers and agreed with Mike Novogratz, who said XRP’s bullish performance in recent months was a sign that people are bullish on the token.

Wolf of Wall Street is a fan of NFT

Although in 2018 he described Bitcoin as a scam, Belfort has become a defender of digital currency, particularly from digital collectibles. The well-known “Wolf of Wall Street” has changed his profile picture on Twitter to put a CryptoPunk, a popular series of NFTs that can cost millions of dollars each.

The Wolf of Wall Street tweeted earlier this week that he is an enthusiast of NFT. He also asked the community about whether to purchase an NFT from the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection. And in general, he has been making a lot of comments on the subject.

In fact, before acquiring recognized collectibles within the tokenized art environment, Belfort revealed the launch of its NFT collection. The collection is about his memories and shows a series of wolf designs made up of elements that refer to his extravagant lifestyles, such as parties, cars, yachts, and helicopters.

By: Jenson Nuñez