The leading cryptocurrency soared above $48,000, MicroStrategy expanded its bitcoin reserves to 190,000 BTC, Solana experienced another network disruption, Bluesky opened to the public, and other notable events of the past week.
Digital gold began the week below $43,000. On Thursday, February 8, bitcoin prices exceeded $45,000, and the following day surpassed $47,000.
At the time of writing, the leading cryptocurrency is trading at $48,000.
All top-10 digital assets by market capitalization ended the week in the “green zone.” Bitcoin (+12%), Solana (+12%), and Avalanche (+11.5%) saw the most gains.
The total cryptocurrency market capitalization stands at $1.9 trillion. Bitcoin’s dominance index is 53.75%.
In January, MicroStrategy acquired an additional 850 BTC for $37.2 million, bringing its total bitcoin reserves to 190,000 BTC (~$9.1 billion).
According to the report, in the fourth quarter of 2023, MicroStrategy purchased 31,755 BTC at an average price of $39,411.
As of February 5, the cost of acquiring 190,000 BTC by the company amounted to $5.93 billion, with an average purchase price of $31,224.
MicroStrategy’s founder, Michael Saylor, stated that the company will also position itself as a “developer of bitcoin and bitcoin-based products.” Previously, it focused on creating and supporting analytical software.
On February 6 at 09:52 UTC, Solana stopped processing blocks. The network resumed operations four hours later.
Laine, a blockchain software developer and Solana validator, clarified that the disruption was due to a “performance degradation” of the main network.
A team of experts led by journalist Colin Wu concluded that the periodic disruptions are caused by the blockchain’s inability to handle the growing volume of transactions.
Experts noted that this is far from the first disruption in the network:
On February 20 at 3:00 UTC, cryptocurrency exchange Binance will delist Aragon (ANT), Multichain (MULTI), Vai (VAI), and Monero (XMR).
In response to the company’s delisting decision, Monero developers stated they would never compromise on privacy issues and advised trading XMR on other platforms.
Over the past week, the price of the anonymous cryptocurrency token has dropped by 27.9%, according to CoinGecko. At the time of writing, XMR is trading below $120.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has expanded the definition of “dealer,” bringing more financial operations, including those involving cryptocurrencies, under its jurisdiction.
Three out of five commissioners voted in favor of the proposal. Digital asset advocate Hester Peirce and her colleague Mark Uyeda opposed it.
Under the new provisions, market participants managing and owning assets exceeding $50 million must register with the SEC as dealers.
The text of the rules notes objections and confusion from crypto industry participants commenting on the SEC’s amendments regarding their application to the DeFi sector.
According to the document, the Commission considered excluding digital assets from the rules but decided it would lead to “negative competitive consequences,” as it would give crypto firms an advantage over traditional organizations.
The provisions will take effect in 60 days and will be fully implemented in April 2025.
Also on ForkLog:
On February 6, Bluesky — a decentralized alternative to social network X, supported by Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey — opened to the public after beta testing, which involved over 3 million users.
The interface and functionality of the social network indeed resemble early Twitter. The platform’s logo is a white butterfly on a blue background.
However, according to the developers, Bluesky’s algorithms and moderation mechanisms differ significantly from competitors’ approaches. The project is built on the decentralized AT Protocol, which is “effectively uncensored and does not collect personal data.”
Upon registering in the social network, users are immediately offered to choose several areas of interest in the form of tags. Based on this, the algorithm selects suitable accounts for subscription.
Additionally, Bluesky features a system of feed channels that relay content of specific themes.
The personalized moderation mechanism of the social network, where algorithms and users themselves mark specific content, allows for its display customization in the feed.
This week, ForkLog covered quantum computing and the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets regulation bill.
In the traditional digest, we compiled the week’s main events in cybersecurity.
The cryptocurrency industry is attracting an increasing number of institutional players. This is evidenced by new infrastructure investments and the growing attention companies are paying to bitcoin as an asset class. The most important events of recent weeks are in ForkLog’s review.
