Industry news: Crypto weekly market update roundup

Top selected crypto weekly market update and industry news.

Leading South African Bank sends account termination notices to Crypto Arbitrage traders

One of South Africa’s biggest banks, Standard Bank, has reportedly sent account termination notices to clients that offer automated cryptocurrency arbitrage services.

This move, according to a Mybroadband report, has sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency industry. The sending of the notices has also raised questions about the criteria that Standard Bank is using when making a decision on which accounts must be terminated.

Defending the termination notices, a spokesperson for Standard Bank insists the bank’s actions are non-discriminatory but are aimed at ensuring that all clients comply with regulations.

“Standard Bank is committed to treating its clients fairly and constantly strives to strike the appropriate balance between maintaining client relationships and ensuring regulatory compliance,” a spokesperson of the bank is quoted as stating.

Nigerian Central Bank says it is now ready to launch CBDC, downplays previous failure

After failing to roll out its CBDC on October 1, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released a document in which it reiterates its commitment to launching the e-naira. In fact, in this document titled The Design Paper for the E-naira, the CBN says it is now ready to launch Nigeria’s CBDC.

However, in the same document, the central bank appears to downplay the implications of failing to launch as planned. Instead, the CBN attempts to highlight the importance of getting things right the first time and how this guarantees the digital currency’s success in the long term. The document explains the CBN’s position: “While the launch of the e-naira is an important event, it is one milestone on a long journey. The e-naira is a process, not a single step. Over time, the CBN believes the robust ecosystems that will be built on the e-naira platform will ensure Nigeria and Nigerians receive all the benefits from the e-naira”

According to the central bank, it is these critical details that should give comfort to Nigerians that the e-naira, which will be available to offline users, has been well-conceived and the launch has been robustly planned.

 Bitcoin hits record high above 66,000 dollars

 Bitcoin hit a historically high price of over 66,000 dollars amidst a wave of enthusiasm and optimism that it could see greater integration from the banking establishment.

Bitcoin was priced at 66,109 dollars at 10:04 (ET) on Wednesday. The cryptocurrency has recovered after falling badly in the summer to less than half that price.

The previous record maximum price of bitcoin was 64,889 dollars, set in April. Despite the comeback, the same serious doubts remain about the viability and security of investing in bitcoin, with regulators advising speculators that they could lose everything.

The day before this new high, Tuesday, was the first day of trading for a new investment fund that speculates on the future of markets related to crypto assets.

ProShares BitCoin Strategy ETF saw its shares rise 2.6 percent on the first day and then further increases on Wednesday. They are the first US ETF linked to bitcoin and it seems to be a vote of confidence in cryptocurrency for the time being.

Bitcoin’s unknown creator Satoshi Nakamoto is now the 20th wealthiest person on earth

Six months after Bitcoin’s All-Time High, Satoshi Nakamoto becomes the 20th wealthiest person in the world.

In mid-April the creator of the Bitcoin network, Satoshi Nakamoto entered the world’s top 20 richest billionaire list but after bitcoin’s price dropped, the inventor’s wealth plummeted. This week, Nakamoto has once again joined the top 20 richest people on the face of the earth. The last time, Nakamoto made the 19th position, and this time around, Bitcoin’s inventor is now the 20th richest person(s) on the face of the planet.

The reason why people assume Satoshi Nakamoto owns all this wealth, is because it is estimated that Bitcoin’s inventor owns around 1 million BTC. Of course, there are lower-bound estimates which say the inventor only collected 750,000 BTC and then upper-bound estimates that assume Nakamoto has more than 1.1 million BTC. The crypto community at large assumes that Nakamoto has around 1 million bitcoin and because he, she or they acquired it during the first year of BTC’s existence, the inventor owns all the forks tied to the stash as well.

Also read : Building Crypto Wealth using Dollar-Cost Averaging