News Updates December 05, 2022
1. Elon Musk's Twitter To Reportedly Launch "Twitter Coin"
Twitter is reportedly working on monetization tools and “Twitter Coin”. App researchers Nima Owji and Jane Manchun Wong revealed the “Coins” section in hidden “Tips” settings on Twitter. Elon Musk earlier hinted at implementing Dogecoin (DOGE) for Twitter payments.
However, it’s unclear whether Dogecoin or other coins will be used for Twitter Coin. Dogecoin price skyrocketed almost 6% after the news, hitting a high of $0.111.
Jane Manchun Wong also revealed instructions for enabling the feature and checking the changes. Moreover, the code doesn’t clearly state what “Twitter Tips” and “Twitter Coin” are or mentioned whether it’s related to Musk’s favorite meme coin DOGE.
“No indications in the code as to what “twitter tips” and “twitter coin” even are, not to mention whether it’s related to doge coins.”
2. 'Imminent’ crash for stocks? 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week
Bitcoin gets a boost from a declining U.S. dollar, but BTC price action is anything but straight bullish, say analysts.
Bitcoin starts its first full week of December at three-week highs as the bulls and the bears battle on.
After a weekly close just above $17,000, BTC/USD seems determined to make the most of relief on stocks and a weakening United States dollar.
As the United States gears up to release November inflation data, the USD looks to be a key item to watch as BTC price action teases a recovery from the pits of the FTX meltdown.
All may not be as straightforward as it seems — miners are facing serious hardship, and data shows and opinions on stocks’ own ability to continue higher are far from unanimous.
As the end of the year approaches, will Bitcoin see a “Santa rally” or face a new year nursing fresh losses?
Cointelegraph presents five areas worth watching in the coming days when it comes to BTC/USD performance.
Bitcoin traders diverge over “Santa rally”
Light relief for Bitcoin bulls this week comes in the form of a solid weekly close followed by an uptick to multi-week highs.
BTC/USD hit $17,418 on Bitstamp in the hours after the close, taking the pair to its highest levels since Nov. 11, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows.
Crypto voices cautious on stocks amid “imminent” crash claim
The coming week in macro marks the precursor to the all-important U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) print for November, due Dec. 13.
In the meantime, U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) and jobless data later in the week will be dates to watch for traders, these traditionally sparking at least short-term volatility.
Eyeing U.S. equities, meanwhile, the tone among crypto traders and beyond appears tense, despite recent strength in the face of a declining dollar.
The S&P 500 (SPX) finished the week prior up 1.66% at 4,071 points.
“Unless we take out 4,300 on volume and stay above, this to me is a propped-up rally. Could take a few weeks to climb mind,” Crypto Tony warned over the weekend.
An additional tweet revealed doubts about Bitcoin avoiding knock-on effects despite already significantly underperforming stocks in the wake of FTX.
“This is a very plausible scenario,” Crypto Tony commented alongside a chart:
“If we do indeed see a continuation crash in the stock market due to high interest, defaults etc, I expect Bitcoin to follow. Until then we will simply range in my opinion while there are minimal buyers.”
Miners already in “giant capitulation”
The FTX saga is beginning to show itself in the struggles of Bitcoin miners to an increasing extent.
The latest data shows that the 30-day change in the BTC supply held in miner wallets is at its most negative since the start of 2021.
The numbers from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode come in the form of the Miner Net Position Change metric. As of Dec. 3, miners were overall down 17,721 BTC over 30 days.
Difficulty set for biggest drop in 17 months
With Bitcoin miners under stress, network fundamentals are beginning to reflect changes in activity.
At its next automated readjustment on Dec. 6, mining difficulty will drop by an estimated 7.8%, according to data from BTC.com.
Sentiment avoids “extreme fear”
As Bitcoin price action staves off further macro lows, sentiment is also shunning volatility.
3. Crypto Exchange Bybit to Cut 30% of Jobs in ‘Deepening Bear Market’
Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit is planning to cut its workforce by 30% amid a continued bear market in the asset class, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Ben Zhou said.
The moves are part of an ongoing reorganization aimed at refocusing efforts, and reductions will be across the board, Zhou said Sunday, adding the priority is to ensure business operations are unaffected and client assets remain safe.
He cited crypto prices trending lower and the struggles of companies such as bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi and embattled crypto brokerage Genesis as signals “to tell us that we are entering into an even colder winter than we had anticipated from both industry and market perspectives.”
Bybit, which is ranked in the top 10 crypto exchanges by both CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko using measures including volume and confidence in the reported volumes, is the latest in a string of exchanges to announce job cuts. Peers like Crypto.com and Kraken have also reduced their workforce as the industry contends with depressed prices and lower volumes.
“It’s important to ensure Bybit has the right structure and resources in place to navigate the market slowdown and is nimble enough to seize the many opportunities ahead,” Zhou said. “Tough times demand tough decisions.”
4. India's Central Bank Digital Currency Should Be Able to Do Anything Cryptocurrency Can Do With No Risk, Official Claims.
An Indian central bank official claims that if there is anything cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether can do, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should be able to create a product that will do the same job without the associated risks. “This is essentially what we are doing in the CBDC experiments,” he stressed.
RBI Official on Cryptocurrency vs Digital Rupee
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor T. Rabi Sankar talked about cryptocurrency and central bank digital currency (CBDC) Friday at an event organized by the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).
“We saw an environment where private currencies were evolving. We realized that this poses a threat to investors, systems, and the economy. We also realized that private currencies have shown that digitalizing currency can possibly benefit,” the RBI official said. “The way to deal with it was to provide a digital currency.”
Referring to non-government-issued cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ether, as “private” cryptocurrencies, the deputy governor opined:
If there is anything that a private cryptocurrency can do, we should be able to create a product that will do that without the associated risks in a safer format in fiat money backed by the government and issued by the central bank. This is essentially what we are doing in the CBDC experiments.
5. Central bank plans to make CBDC 'only legal digital tender' in Indonesia, says gov
“Collaboration and synergy on national and international level is critical to the development of Digital Rupiah,” said Perry Warjiyo.
Bank of Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo has announced developments in its plans to launch a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, for “various digital economic and financial transactions.”
In a Dec. 5 speech at the central bank’s annual meeting, Warjiyo said the bank planned to release details on the conceptual design of a digital rupiah — a currency the equivalent of the country’s fiat — and open the matter to public comment. According to the governor, the Bank of Indonesia intended for the digital rupiah to be “integrated, interconnected, and interoperable” with other countries’ CBDCs following discussions with central bank officials.
The CBDC initiative, called Project Garuda, will start with the launch of a wholesale digital rupiah for “use cases of issuance, redemption, and interbank fund transfer” followed by “monetary operations and financial market development.” The project’s white paper states that the third phase will deal with end-to-end transactions between wholesale and retail digital rupiah users.
“Collaboration and synergy on national and international level is critical to the development of Digital Rupiah,” said Warjiyo.
